Exploration & Production | People | People-Promotion

Blackbird Energy Promotes CFO

Share Print Bookmark    |    Thursday,February 19,2015

Blackbird Energy Inc. has announced that Mr. Jeff Swainson has been appointed to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Prior to his appointment as Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Swainson held the position of Controller with Blackbird.

Mr. Swainson is a Chartered Accountant with over seven years of broad finance experience in audit, financial reporting, tax, budgeting and forecasting, cash management, internal controls, and strategic analysis. Mr. Swainson began his career with BDO Canada LLP where he conducted audits of publicly traded companies in the oil and gas exploration and production industry. Subsequent to receiving his CA designation, Mr. Swainson held positions of increasing responsibility with Chevron Canada Resources and Sonde Resources Corp. Mr. Swainson holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Honours degree, with Distinction, from the University of British Columbia Okanagan and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.

Garth Braun, Blackbird's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated: "Mr. Swainson has exceeded the expectations of upper management since joining Blackbird as Controller in 2014, and his subsequent promotion to the position of Chief Financial Officer illustrates Blackbird's ability to attract and develop some of the premier talent in the industry. In order for Blackbird to execute on its strategic initiatives and maintain its growth trajectory, Blackbird's finance function and internal controls framework must be scalable and functioning at a level beyond that of a typical TSX Venture company. Mr. Swainson's appointment provides for this scalability. Mr. Swainson will be counted on as a core member of Blackbird's executive team, and his strategic mindset, strong technical skills, top-tier business acumen and passion for the business will be instrumental in Blackbird's continued success."

In order to allow for the planned appointment of Mr. Swainson, Mr. Ron Schmitz has resigned as Blackbird's Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Schmitz will continue to serve on Blackbird's Board of Directors.

Mr. Braun said: "Mr. Schmitz has been instrumental in the growth of Blackbird from its infancy to the company it has become today. We thank Mr. Schmitz for his many contributions as Chief Financial Officer, and we look forward to his continued contributions as a Director and a member of Blackbird's Audit Committee."

In connection with Mr. Swainson's appointment, and pursuant to the terms of the Company's stock option plan, Mr. Swainson has been granted 700,000 stock options exercisable at a price of $0.465 until February 18, 2020. This stock option grant is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.