Kozel decides not to pursue Exec Director role in board room shake up

Gulf Keystone Petroleum have just announced, “Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (“Gulf Keystone” or the “Company”) announces that Todd Kozel has decided to stand down from the Board of Directors of the Company and not to accept the previously announced role of Executive Director upon retiring as Chief Executive Officer.  As such, Mr Kozel declined to seek re-election to the Board at the company’s Annual General Meeting today. Mr Kozel will stay on as an officer of the group.”, and From today “John Gerstenlauer, who served as Gulf Keystone’s Chief Operating Officer since 2008, assumes the role of Chief Executive Officer.”

The market seems to like the news with a solid rise yesterday and today with hopes that the board room battles at GKP could finally be over. Kozel is staying as an officer of the company to deal with the relationships with the Kurdistan Regional Government but it seems he did not have the stomach for a battle at the AGM to approve his election as an ED.

Investors will be hoping the company can now focus on building production from its Kurdistan assets rather than bickering in the board room and with outside institutional investors. Gerstenlauer has plenty on his plate to deliver on Shaikan against the back drop of the situation on the ground in Iraq and Kurdistan which remains volatile after the ISIS land grab in Northern Iraq.

Contrarian Investor UK

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