LONDON (Alliance News) - Nighthawk Energy PLC said Tuesday that it has appointed Richard McCullough as executive chairman, effective October 1, as Stephen Gutteridge prepares to step down from the position.
The US-focused oil development and production company said McCullough will be based in Denver, USA. He has more than 30 years' experience in the US energy and oil and gas industries with over 20 years at the executive level, holding the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Executive and then Chairman positions at PDC Energy Inc after joining in 2006.
Prior to joining PDC Energy, he served as president and CEO at Gasource, LLC and as an investment banker at JP Morgan. During his career, he has led teams in completing over three billion dollars of transactions in the energy markets.
Outgoing Executive Chairman Gutteridge informed the company of his intention to step down from his position in March this year after serving in the role since January 2012. He has been working with McCullough in recent weeks to expedite an efficient handover of responsibilities, said the company in a statement.
Gutteridge will retire as a director of Nighthawk and leave the company on September 30, 2014.
"As signaled earlier this year, we are restructuring the Board so as to move the focus of executive responsibility to the US where the Company operates. Our Denver team has delivered significant success over the past two years and built a US company that has good future prospects," said Gutteridge.
"Rick brings a wealth of experience to the Company and a strong track record of delivering growth married to disciplined risk management, efficient capital employment and transaction experience," he added.
Shares in Nighthawk Energy were Tuesday quoted at 9.60 pence per share, untraded.
By Alice Attwood; aliceattwood@alliancenews.com; @AliceAtAlliance
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