CEO of Otto Energy Matthew Allen; Source: Otto Energy

Otto Energy chief executive officer steps down

The chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director of Australia-based oil and gas company Otto Energy has decided to step down from his roles.

CEO of Otto Energy Matthew Allen; Source: Otto Energy

Otto said on Thursday that Matthew Allen would relinquish the roles of chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director effective immediately.

Allen is departing from the company by mutual agreement following the completion of his two-year assignment to Houston.

He has agreed to remain with the company as a senior advisor for six months to assist with an orderly leadership transition to a new successor.

Allen joined Otto in 2009 as the chief financial officer (CFO) before being appointed CEO in February 2014 and managing director in June 2015.

Otto added that it started the process of finding a suitable replacement to be located in the company’s office in Houston. It is intended that Allen’s successor will be a U.S. oil and gas executive with extensive experience in the Gulf of Mexico.

Otto’s non-executive chairman, John Jetter, will assume the role of executive chairman during the transition period and Kevin Small, an executive director, will continue to oversee the day to day operations of the company.

Jetter will assume the role of executive chairman with no change to his current non-executive chairman remuneration. Small’s terms of employment also remain unchanged.

Jetter said: “After a successful 11-year tenure with Otto, Allen’s leadership of the group has seen the company transition to a successful production company in the Gulf of Mexico.

Allen and his family relocated to Houston for two years to assist with building out the company’s presence in the U.S. We would like to thank Allen for his significant contributions and guidance of the company through a difficult period in our industry and wish him well in his future endeavours.

We have begun the search for Matthew’s replacement and there will be no interruption to Otto’s operations. The board and management remain focused on maximising cash generation in the current environment, successfully bringing our GC 21 project online, and preserving value for our shareholders”.