Parkland has announced that Bob Espey, current president and CEO, will resign from his position. This announcement comes just two weeks after the company’s largest shareholder, Simpson Oil, called for his removal.
Michael Jennings, former chair of the board, will assume the role of executive chair.
“Serving as Parkland’s CEO has been the opportunity of a lifetime. I want to thank the entire Parkland team — past and present — for their incredible dedication and drive. I am proud of what we have built together,” said Espey. “Over the past few months, it became clear that stepping down and announcing my departure may help bring resolution to the situation with Simpson Oil Limited and benefit all shareholders. I remain deeply committed to Parkland and will support a smooth transition to new leadership. I look forward to working closely with Michael in his new role as executive chair.”
Two weeks ago, Simpson wrote a letter to shareholders urging them to consider possible alternatives to the executive structure of the company.
“The elements of of Parkland that attracted us in 2019 have been mismanaged out of existence … there is a fundamental obstacle to addressing these problems: Parkland’s entrenched leadership, which consistently prioritizes management interests over those of shareholders,” the letter read.
Parkland swiftly responded by saying the shareholder’s actions were a “self-interested attempt by Simpson, a minority shareholder, to seize full control of Parkland without paying a control premium.”
Simpson Oil, which owns approximately 19.8% of Parkland’s outstanding common shares, also nominated nine independent directors for Parkland’s board ahead of the company’s May 6 shareholder meeting.
Of the nine names Simpson recommended to shareholders, two have previously served on the Parkland board — Michael Christiansen and Marc Halley, who departed from the board in January 2024.
“Many members of the Simpson slate lack credibility and relevant experience to meet the standards required to govern a public company of Parkland’s scale and complexity,” said Jennings at the time of the announcement. “However, in the interest of resolution and collaboration with Simpson, Parkland has selected three of Simpson’s nominees who meet Parkland’s governance standards and propose to include one of the Simpson nominees on the special committee overseeing the strategic review.”
The three nominees Parkland and Simpson both selected are Brian Gibson, Karen Stuckey and Michael Christiansen.
In the meantime, Parkland’s board has formed a CEO search committee to select a qualified replacement for Espey. He will stay on until the appointment of a new CEO, the completion of its strategic review or Dec. 31 — whichever occurs first.
