Gulfport Energy’s annual meeting to be “virtual”

Leadership at Oklahoma City’s Gulfport Energy Corporation has decided the COVID-19 pandemic will force the firm to hold a virtual-only annual meeting next week.

The company blamed the public health impact of the coronavirus and the importance of safeguarding the health of stockholders, employees and directors for not holding an in-person meeting on Thursday, July 16. Stockholders will not be able to attend the annual meeting in person.

The meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. central time and only stockholders in the company will be entitled to participate. They’ll have to register no later than 9 a.m. on July 15.

 A notice regarding the change to a virtual-only meeting has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information regarding the Annual Meeting and stockholder registration for, participation in and voting at the annual meeting is provided in the notice.

Shareholders are being asked to approve four new directors to the board, making a total of 8 directors. CEO and President David M. Wood as well as Deborah Adams, C. Doug Johnson and Ben T. Morris are current members.

The board nominated Alvin Bledsoe, Samantha Holroyd, Valerie Jochen and John W. Somerhalder II as new members.

Bledsoe has held various senior roles at PwC, including global leader for PwC’s Energy, Mining and Utilities Industries Assurance and Business Advisory Services Group. Holroyd has been a consultant and former Managing Director AT Lantana Energy Advisors and TPG Sixth Street Partners.

Jochen is a professor of Reservoir Engineering at Texas A&M University and held senior roles previously at Schlumberger before her retirement in 2017. Somerhalder is the Interim President and CEO at CenterPoint Energy.