Baron Oil Plc (LON:BOIL) has provided a further update regarding the changes to the Company’s board of Directors and executive positions.
Summary of changes to the Board
John Wakefield has stepped down as Chairman of the Board with effect from 22 April 2024 and Gerry Aherne has now been appointed to the Board as Baron’s new Independent Non-Executive Chairman with immediate effect.
Jon Ford, Technical Director for Baron, has elected to step down from the Board at the end of April 2024. Jon will be retained by the Company in a part-time consultancy role to act as a technical adviser.
Dr John Chessher has joined the Board as an Independent Non-Executive Director with immediate effect.
At the executive level, Rob Collins has been appointed as Baron’s chief financial officer (“CFO”), currently a non-board position.
Backgrounds of new Directors and CFO
Gerry Aherne has a wealth of career experience in insurance and financial markets, having been a founding director of PRI Group plc, a directors’ and officers’ liability insurer, and having held non-executive directorships with Henderson Group plc, Mecom Group plc, Omnis Investments Ltd and Iveagh Ltd. He was Investment Director at Schroder Investment Management for 16 years, managing pension funds and unit trusts, Chairman of Electric & General Investment Trust plc, and also Chairman of Cenkos Securities plc from 2012 to 2018. He is currently Managing Partner of Javelin Capital Partners LLP.
Dr John Chessher is a highly experienced investment industry professional who has held CEO and director-level positions at leading asset management and investment banking firms. John has extensive knowledge and experience of corporate research and capital raising, including as CEO of Cenkos Securities Asia and Head of Asia Pacific Research at Schroder Investment Management. He holds an MA in Engineering Science from Oxford University and DBA, MSc and MBA qualifications from Henley Business School. He is a CFA charter-holder and currently combines non-executive and advisory roles with his position as a lecturer at Henley Business School.
Rob Collins has over 20 years’ experience in natural resources corporate finance, advising on a broad range of corporate transactions spanning various commodity groups and transactions primarily at Evolution Securities, Canaccord Genuity Europe and GMP Securities Europe. He has successfully advised on numerous IPOs, public and private equity raises and M&A transactions for many UK, Canadian and Australian listed companies as well as acting as CFO for Victoria Oil & Gas Plc. Rob commenced his career at Coopers and Lybrand and is a qualified Chartered Accountant.
Dr Andy Butler, Baron Oil Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“I would like to thank John Wakefield and Jon Ford for their significant contributions to the Board and I am delighted to welcome Gerry Aherne and John Chessher, who I know will bring excellent guidance and oversight as we take the Company forward. The appointment of Rob Collins as CFO is also great news, as he brings a wealth of expertise in financing of natural resources projects. The refreshed Board and executive team are committed to building shareholder value, strong governance and transparency. The Board’s priority remains to progress and realise the value in the Chuditch project in Timor-Leste, where we continue to prepare to drill the key appraisal well in parallel with discussions with potential funding partners.“
