People-Retirement

Harry Quarls to Retire from Penn Virginia

Share Print Bookmark    |    Monday,January 22,2018

Harry Quarls, Executive Chairman and director of Penn Virginia, is retiring from the company effective February 28, 2018. 

The Company also announced the expansion of its board of directors from five to seven members and the appointments of Mr. David Geenberg and Mr. Michael Hanna as new independent board members, effective immediately.  

The Company plans to conduct a search for a new director and Chairman who is not a shareholder representative and who has oil and gas industry expertise. Mr. Quarls has also agreed to provide consulting services for the Company through the end of 2018.

Mr. Geenberg is Co-Head of US Investment Team of Strategic Value Partners, LLC ("SVP"), which together with its affiliates manage certain investment funds and accounts that hold approximately 10.2% of the Company's outstanding common stock, respectively. Mr. Geenberg joined SVP in 2009, and since such time, he has led the firm's investment efforts in the infrastructure, energy, and power sectors in North America, serving on the steering committees of more than a dozen significant restructurings. Previously, Mr. Geenberg worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co., most recently in the Infrastructure Investment Group and Principal Investment Area focused on energy and transportation infrastructure businesses, and, prior to that, in the investment bank's Natural Resources Group. Mr. Geenberg received a B.A. in Economics summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 2005. The board of directors believes Mr. Geenberg's experience in advising and investing in the energy industry will bring value to the Company. In connection with Mr. Geenberg's election to the board of directors, SVP and Mr. Geenberg have entered into a standstill and support agreement with the Company, pursuant to which, among other things, during the standstill period SVP will vote its shares of common stock in favor of the board's recommendation with respect to director nominations and other routine matters submitted to a vote of the Company's Shareholders.

Mr. Hanna is a Partner and Portfolio Manager of KLS Diversified Asset Management ("KLS"), which beneficially owns approximately 7.7% of the Company's outstanding common stock. Mr. Hanna joined KLS in July 2015 and has 16 years of investment banking and portfolio management experience. Prior to joining KLS, Mr. Hanna was a Portfolio Manager and Head of Trading at BulwarkBay Investment Group, LLC, a firm he co-founded in 2011. Previously, he was a portfolio manager with Concordia Advisors LLC, where he co-managed the firm's Distressed Debt Fund. Mr. Hanna joined Concordia in 2005. Prior to joining Concordia, he worked in the Leveraged Finance/Financial Sponsors and Global Corporate Investment Banking groups of RBC Capital Markets from 2004 to 2005 and Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 2001 to 2004. Mr. Hanna's industry experience includes oil & gas, industrials, paper and forest products, insurance and financials, aerospace and energy. He is a member of the board of directors of Modular Space Corporation and Sensei, Inc. Mr. Hanna received a B.A. from the University of Michigan in 2001 and is a CFA Charter holder. The board of directors believes Mr. Hanna's experience in finance will bring value to the Company.