Stephens named interim CEO at Panhandle Oil & Gas

Chad L. Stephens will serve as interim chief executive officer of Panhandle Oil & Gas Inc., Oklahoma City. Paul F. Blanchard Jr. has stepped down as a member of the board and as president and chief executive officer of the company. Blanchard became CEO in 2017 (OGJ Online, Mar. 16, 2016). He was the company’s chief operating officer from 2010 to 2017.

Stephens, who served as the company’s lead independent director, has been a member of the board since 2017 and serves on the audit committee and the compensation committee. He will remain a director. The role of lead independent director will be assumed by Mark T. Behrman, a member of the board since 2017.

The transition coincides with the board’s evaluation of the company’s strategy, Behrman said in a press statement. The company is making a shift with an increasing focus on the mineral acquisition market, he said.