Amidst Carl Icahn’s takeover attempt at Oklahoma City’s SandRidge Energy, the company chairman John V. Genova has retired immediately over the past few days.
Michael L. Bennett is the new chairman. He has been a director of the company since October 2016. The board of directors also named Kenneth H. Beer to be a new independent director.
Beer is the CFO and executive vice president of Stone Energy Corp. in Louisiana.
“We thank John for his significant contributions to SandRidge and wish him well in his future endeavors,” Bennett said in a statement. “The SandRidge board and management team are pleased to welcome Ken Beer to our board. Ken brings extensive oil and gas industry knowledge, financial expertise and corporate management experience.
“We are confident that he will be a valuable addition to the board as we move forward to address the challenges and explore the opportunities to realize greater value for all SandRidge shareholders.”
While the board announced the retirement of Genova, the members also made it clear they intend to seek re-election. Their intentions come after Icahn last week unveiled his own list of nominees to serve as directors.