Commerce Energy Appoints Michael J. Fallquist Chief Operating Officer
March 13 2008 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
Commerce Energy (AMEX:EGR), a leading U.S. electricity and natural
gas marketing company, announced that effective March 10, 2008, it
appointed Michael J. Fallquist as its Chief Operating Officer.
Prior to joining Commerce Energy, Fallquist served as a Senior
Manager in the Equity Markets Division of Macquarie Bank Limited,
an international provider of banking, advisory and investment
services, from December 2005 to March 2008. Prior to that,
Fallquist was a Strategy Consultant with Macquarie Bank Limited
from August 2004 to December 2005. Fallquist received his Bachelor
of Arts degree from Colgate University and his Master of Business
Administration (MBA) from Cornell University. �Michael fills an
essential and strategically important need at Commerce Energy,�
said Gregory L. Craig, the Company�s Chief Executive Officer. Craig
went on to say, �Fallquist will serve a key role in helping
management refocus our efforts to reduce expenses and improve
operational efficiency, increase capital and credit strength and
strengthen our systems and internal operations to handle future
risk-controlled and prudent growth.� In connection with Fallquist�s
employment, the Compensation Committee of the Company, comprised of
all independent directors, as defined under the Amex Company Guide,
intends to grant, as soon as the application to list 375,000
additional shares of the Company�s common stock is approved by the
Amex, to Fallquist, an individual not previously an employee or
director of the Company, an option to purchase 125,000 shares of
the Company�s common stock at a per share price equal to the last
sale price of a share of common stock on the date of grant, and
award to Fallquist 250,000 shares of restricted stock. The option
will be vested in full on the date of grant and will have a term of
six years and the shares of restricted stock vested 150,000 on the
date of the award with the remaining shares vesting in equal 50,000
share increments on each of the first and second anniversary dates
of the award. To the extent that Fallquist voluntarily resigns
without good reason within the first twelve months of employment,
he is obligated to return to the Company the 150,000 restricted
shares, or if he sold such shares, the proceeds of the sale. The
option and the restricted shares will be issued to Fallquist as
awards under an exemption from an Amex Rule which requires that
officers, directors, employees, or consultants of companies may
only acquire options or stock from option and equity compensation
plans which have been approved by the stockholders. Because there
were not a sufficient number of shares of common stock left in the
Commerce Energy 2006 Stock Incentive Plan, the Board approved a
special Incentive Plan for Mr. Fallquist with a maximum of 375,000
shares to accommodate the proposed grants of the above-referenced
option and restricted stock awards. Using this Amex exemption, no
stockholder approval is required for the Company to issue these
shares to Fallquist. The exemption requires disclosure of this
type, approval of the issuance by the Company�s independent
compensation committee, and that the recipient not previously have
been an employee or director of the Company, each of which have
been and will be met when the grant is made, which is expected to
be shortly. About Commerce Energy Group, Inc. Commerce Energy
Group, Inc. (�Commerce Energy�) is a leading independent U.S.
electricity and natural gas marketing company, operating through
its wholly-owned subsidiaries Commerce Energy, Inc. and Skipping
Stone Inc. Commerce Energy is publicly traded on the American Stock
Exchange (AMEX) under the symbol �EGR.� Commerce Energy, Inc. is
licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and by state
regulatory agencies as an unregulated retail marketer of natural
gas and electricity to homeowners, commercial and industrial
consumers and institutional customers. Headquartered in Orange
County, California, the Company also has an office in Dallas,
Texas, as well as several area offices located around the U.S. For
nearly a decade, customers have relied on Commerce to deliver
competitive pricing, innovative product offerings and personalized
customer service, in addition to quality gas and electric services.
For more information, visit www.CommerceEnergy.com.
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