Athabasca Oil Corp. names new CEO
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Chairman of the Board Thomas Buchanan has stepped aside as top executive
CALGARY—Athabasca Oil Corp. separated the roles of the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and named a new top executive.
Chairman of the Board Thomas Buchanan has stepped aside as CEO, effective April 20, 2015, with Rob Broen named to take over the roll.
Buchanan, who will stay on as the board chair, was appointed President and CEO of the oilsands extraction company in September 2014, replacing the outgoing Sveinung Svarte.
After taking over as interim CEO, Buchanan was tasked with a renewal of the board and a cost structure review. In October 2014, Athabasca launched a thorough cost structure review to streamline costs and better align the organization to the current operating environment, its capital plans and growth objectives.
The company has now concluded its review and claims to have reduced costs in all areas, including a 50 per cent reduction in the size of its head office workforce and “a significant reduction in annualized general and administrative (G&A) costs going forward.”
Athabasca says it is targeting gross G&A of approximately $60 million in 2016. The company also expects to realize substantial cost savings through streamlining of operations and lower related service costs.
Athabasca Oil Corp. is a Canadian energy company focusing on thermal and light oil assets.
