Earl Reynolds has been named chief executive officer of Chaparral Energy LLC. He’ll succeed the retiring Mark A. Fischer, who has served in the role since the firm’s inception in 1988.
Fischer will continue to direct the company over the next couple of weeks, and provide assistance through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition of his duties to Reynolds.
Reynolds joined Chaparral in 2011 as executive vice-president and chief operating officer before becoming its president in 2014. Prior to that time, he served as senior vice-president of strategic development and led the international business unit at Devon Energy Corp., and worked in several leadership roles in domestic and international operations with firms including Burlington Resources and Mobil Oil.
Chaparral announced the change in leadership alongside a restructuring support agreement with its consenting bondholders and lenders to convert $1.2 billion of its outstanding debt to equity. The firm originally filed for Chapter 11 protection when it began a comprehensive financial restructuring on May 9 (OGJ Online, May 10, 2016).