Parkland Corp. has replaced two of its longtime board members with representatives from its largest shareholder, according to a Thursday announcement.
Michael Christiansen and Marc Halley, investment managers with the Simpson Group — which holds a 19.6% stake in the convenience and fuel retailer — were both approved by over 99% of votes to replace David Spencer and John Bechtold on Parkland’s board of directors during the company’s special shareholder meeting May 4.
Christiansen is an adviser to the various boards of the companies held by Simpson, while Halley oversees the investment direction and oversight of Simpson’s various portfolios.
Before joining Simpson, both executives worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Christiansen specialized in corporate finance, deal advisory and transaction services for clients in the oil and gas, automotive, retail, financial services and real estate development industries, while Halley led M&A, corporate finance and due diligence for various clients across the Caribbean and North America.
Spencer and Bechtold had been on Parkland’s board of directors since 2002 and 2006, respectively.
The swap comes about six weeks after Parkland agreed to let Simpson designate up to two nominees for election to its board of directors, a move that coincided with another one of Parkland’s shareholders pressuring the retailer to split its c-store and fuel businesses and refresh its board of directors amid long-term underperformance.
Although Parkland’s agreement with Simpson came just a day after the initial investor pressure, the retailer said at the time it wouldn’t speculate on the coincidental timing of the two events.
Parkland’s board of directors change came the same day as its announcement to sell $500 million worth of non-core assets — including select retail sites — that no longer align with its business objectives.
On the company’s earnings call Thursday, President and CEO Robert Espey said Parkland’s current stock price does not reflect the performance and quality of the company, but he believes that Parkland’s strategy is the right one moving forward.
With 1,860 stores in its Canadian network, Calgary, Alberta-based Parkland is the largest independent fuel retailer and second-largest c-store operator in Canada. In the U.S., Parkland supplies fuel to independently owned gas stations and operates 212 c-stores under a variety of banners, including On the Run, Hart’s, Superpumper and KB Express.
