A month after Chesapeake Energy and Southwest Energy officially merged into a newly named firm, Expand Energy, details of the removal of one of the executive officers was revealed in a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission.
Benjamin E. Russ was removed as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Company as of October 1, 2024. Expand Energy filed a Form 8-K showing he filed a Severance Agreement on Nov. 1, 2024.
He will receive the cash severance, equity award vesting and other benefits set forth in the Severance Plan which he previously entered into in January 2024.
The board of directors replaced him last month with Christopher Lacy as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Lacy was previously Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Southwestern Energy, where he joined the company in 2014 as chief litigation counsel and held various roles of progressively increasing responsibility. Lacy, according to an October announcement by Expand Energy, is t o be paid an annual salary of $490,000 a year. He will also have the opportunity to earn an annual cash performance bonus with a target bonus opportunity of 80% of his annual base salary with an opportunity to earn up to 200% of his Annual Target Bonus based on achievement of certain performance goals established by the Board or the compensation committee.
