Joseph Gatto Jr. will assume the role of chief executive officer at Callon Petroleum Co., Natchez, Miss., after the sudden passing on May 24 of Fred Callon. L. Richard Flury will become nonexecutive chairman.
Gatto will continue his current duties as president and chief financial officer, and the remainder of Callon Petroleum’s leadership team will continue in their current roles. No changes are expected in the firm’s day-to-day business activities.
Gatto worked alongside Fred Callon since 2012 as the firm executed an aggressive growth strategy in the Permian basin. Since the beginning of 2016, Callon Petroleum has completed more than $1 billion in acquisitions and $2 billion in debt and equity raises, nearly tripling the firm’s acreage position.
Prior to joining Callon Petroleum, Gatto held various positions in the financial advisory and energy investment banking groups of Merrill Lynch & Co., Barclays Capital, Merrill Lynch Commodities Inc., and MarchWire Capital LLC, the latter of which he founded.
Flury has served on the board since 2004 and currently serves on the company’s audit, compensation and strategic planning, and reserves committees. Prior to his retirement, he spent more than 30 years with Amoco Corp. and later BP PLC, most recently as chief executive, gas and power and renewables. Flury also is a director and the nonexecutive chairman of Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. NV.
Fred Callon had been chairman since May 2004 and president and chief executive officer since January 1997.