Aegean: Georgiopoulos Steps Down, Interim President and Chairman Appointed

Peter Georgiopoulos. Image Credit: Aegean

Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. [NYSE: ANW] (Aegean) today has announced Peter Georgiopoulos has stepped down as Chairman of the Board, with Yiannis Papanicolaou succeeding him as interim Chairman of the Board with immediate effect.

Another member of the board, John Tavlarios, has also stepped down effective immediately.

Both men, who have served on Aegean's board since 2006, have agreed to continue to work with the Board as consultants "to facilitate the Company's senior management transition," Aegean noted.

As Ship & Bunker previous reported, earlier this week both Georgiopoulos and Tavlarios failed to win majority backing from shareholders at a vote during its latest Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

"Since joining the Board in 2006, I have worked collaboratively with my fellow directors and the management team, and I look forward to serving as interim Chairman during such an important time and safeguarding a smooth transition until the appointment of a permanent Chairman," said Papanicolaou.

"On behalf of the Company, I want to thank Messrs Georgiopoulos and Tavlarios for their contributions to Aegean throughout the years and wish them well in their future endeavors."

Georgiopoulos remains Aegean's largest shareholder, who owns 13.7 percent of the common stock.

Also today, Aegean announced that its Board has appointed Jean Jose (JJ) Metey as interim President of Aegean, effective immediately.

Metey was said to have joined Aegean in 2006 and most recently served as Director of Corporate Development.

"Metey will be supported by Aegean's senior management team, who will assist in overseeing the Company's operations and strategy. The Company continues to engage in a comprehensive search process to identify a new permanent President," Aegean said.

Commenting on Metey's appointment, Papanicolaou said: "As an executive at Aegean for more than 11 years, I believe JJ is well suited to assume the role of President on an interim basis while the Board continues a thorough search to identify the right candidate to lead the Company and achieve future growth."

The move follows the exit earlier this month of former President E. Nikolas Tavlarios, who agreed by mutual agreement to resign following a surprise 1Q 2017 result that brokerage and investment banking firm Stifel called one of the worst in the company's history, with the company's stock value falling almost 50 percent shortly after.

"I am honored to take on the role of interim President, and look forward to working with the rest of the talented management team as we continue to serve our clients across the globe and drive value for shareholders," said Metey.