Berry Corporation (bry) (NASDAQ:BRY) today announced the evolution of its executive team, effective January 1, 2023:
- Trem Smith, Berry’s current Board Chairman, President and CEO, to become Executive Chairman.
- Berry’s current Chief Operating Officer Fernando Araujo to become Chief Executive Officer (the position of COO will be eliminated).
- Berry’s current General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Danielle Hunter to become President with responsibility for the Legal, Finance, Human Resources, and Health, Safety and Environmental functions.
- Berry’s current Chief Accounting Officer Mike Helm to become Chief Financial Officer (also maintaining Chief Accounting Officer designation). Cary Baetz, Berry’s current CFO and member of the Board, will remain at the Company in his board role and as a special advisor helping in the transition until March 2023.
“Since joining Berry six years ago, the Board and I have worked to develop a group of strong and capable leaders to ensure the Company’s continued success. Fernando’s entrepreneurial spirit and strong operational experience managing our assets have delivered excellent shareholder returns and he has proven his leadership abilities and suitability to lead Berry. Among other strengths, he has demonstrated the ability to be flexible in ever changing environments, adapting to successfully execute on our strategic goals, while delivering strong health, safety and environmental performance,” said Trem Smith. Mr. Araujo joined Berry in September 2020 with more than 30 years of experience having worked in leadership roles for some of the most recognized companies in the industry, including Shell, Repsol, Apache, and Schlumberger.
“The foundation for the company’s future success is built on a strong, value-creating shareholder return model, a cash flow generating hedge book, and a portfolio of oil producing assets that underpin the Company’s ability to deliver strong cash flow results. The Board and I are confident this is the team to lead Berry’s future success by continuing to strengthen our operations while reducing overall expenses to deliver top-tier returns of capital to shareholders. I’m proud of what we have accomplished together over the past 6 years and am positive this team will continue to execute our proven plan to optimize our assets and maximize shareholder return,” Smith concluded.
Fernando Araujo stated, “I am ready to take the helm as Berry’s CEO leading this talented team. I am confident in our ability to build on our proven business model and expect to maximize shareholder returns by focusing on operational excellence and strong cost management.”
