Sterling Energy has appointed two ex-Tullow Oil executives to its board as executive directors.
The company has appointed Paul McDade as CEO and Ian Cloke as COO. McDade was previously CEO of Tullow while Cloke was formerly executive vice president.
The existing CEO of Sterling, Tony Hawkins, has stepped down. He will leave the company. Other directors, Michael Kroupeev, Ilya Belyaev and Leo Koot, are involved in the transition to a new board.
Kroupeev welcomed the two ex-Tullow figures to the board, saying he looked forward to working with them.
“This is an exciting time for the Company as it looks to move forward with a refreshed strategy for the business,” Kroupeev continued. “I would like to thank Tony for his help with the transition between shareholder groups and we wish him all the very best with his future endeavours.”
Sterling’s statement said the two new executives had extensive experience in West Africa. They plan to shift Sterling’s strategy to producing assets in this region.
McDade joined Tullow in 2001, ultimately becoming COO and then CEO. He left the company in December 2019. He remains a director at African Insights.
Cloke joined Tullow in 2005, after spending 10 years at ExxonMobil. He became EVP New Ventures Business and left Tullow in September 2020. Cloke is also a director at Navara Energy.
Sterling also said it had appointed a new broker, Tennyson Securities, to act alongside Peel Hunt.
Waterford Finance & Investment and Mistyvale agreed to sell their 29.23% and 15.66% shareholdings in Sterling in mid-February. Kroupeev is the founder of Waterford, while Belyaev is linked to Mistyvale.
Sterling did not identify who was buying Waterford and Mistyvale’s stakes. It said they were “institutional and high net worth investors”.
As of the end of November 2020, Sterling had $42.9 million in cash. It holds a 34% stake in a 22,840 square km block in Somaliland, where it is carried by Genel Energy.