Reuters: Private Equity: UPDATE 2-Chesapeake names ex-Conoco chief Dunham chairman

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UPDATE 2-Chesapeake names ex-Conoco chief Dunham chairman Jun 21st 2012, 14:28 Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:28am EDT June 21 (Reuters) - Chesapeake Energy Corp said on Thursday its board has named former Conoco head Archie Dunham its new chairman, replacing Aubrey McClendon as it seeks to quell a shareholder revolt over a governance crisis. The move indicates that McClendon, who continues as chief executive, would likely retain power over Chesapeake, which he co-founded, and which has said it will sell up to $11.5 billion of its assets. In May, Chesapeake said it would split the job of CEO and chairman. The decision followed close on the heels of a Reuters report saying that McClendon had arranged more than $1 billion in personal loans, using his interest in company wells as collateral. Dunham, 73, spent more than three decades at Conoco, serving as president and chief executive, and overseeing the deal that created ConocoPhillips in 2002. He was chairman of ConocoPhillips from the merger until his retirement in 2004. Dunham has been credited with turning around a struggling Conoco in the 1990s when, as head of its oil and gas production business, he sold $2 billion in assets and focused spending on its best-performing fields. The company said four other independent directors were added to its board. Of these, its largest shareholder Southeastern Asset Management had proposed Bob Alexander, Brad Martin and Frederic Poses, while activist investor Carl Icahn had proposed Vincent Intrieri. Despite being rejected by about three quarters of the company's shareholders in a vote earlier this month, Chesapeake said it would keep V. Burns Hargis on the board so that he could help complete a review of McClendon's financing arrangements. The five new directors will replace Richard Davidson, Kathleen Eisbrenner, Frank Keating and Don Nickles - who resigned - and Charles Maxwell, who retired at an annual meeting on June 8. Shares in Chesapeake fell 1.2 percent in early trading Thursday to $18.81 per share. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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