Chesapeake Alum Joins Laredo as CFO

Laredo Petroleum Inc. has named Bryan Lemmerman as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective June 30. Michael Beyer will be leaving the company effective June 17, according to a company statement.

Lemmerman has more than 15 years of experience in the energy exploration and production industry, including an extensive background in strategic planning and business development. He previously spent 10 years with Chesapeake Energy Corp., most recently as Vice President – Business Development and Treasurer. Prior to joining Chesapeake, Lemmerman was a portfolio manager at Highview Capital Management and Ritchie Capital Management.

"I am excited to welcome Bryan to the Laredo team," said Jason Pigott, President and Chief Executive Officer. "His strong financial background and leadership role in numerous acquisition and divestiture projects fit perfectly with the strategy we are planning to execute to build the company’s scale and increase margins. I would also like to thank Michael for his many contributions to Laredo during his 13 years with the Company and his integral role in leading the Company through our recent debt issuance and credit facility redetermination. We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Separately, the company has taken steps to further reduce personnel expenses. Through a combination of headcount reductions and in director and officer compensation, personnel costs for full-year 2020 are expected to be reduced by 10% from full-year 2019 levels.

"Although oil prices have rebounded from the historic lows reached just six weeks ago, we remain committed to maintaining our competitive cost structure and have taken decisive action to support corporate-level returns," Pigott said. "Decisions to cut personnel costs are never easy, but we have focused compensation reductions primarily at the officer and director level. We regard our low cost structure as a competitive advantage and are continually focused on making the necessary adjustments in this challenging price environment."

Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Laredo is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and  gas properties primarily in the Permian Basin of West Texas.

To contact the author, email bertie.taylor@rigzone.com.