Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Departure of Director and Chief Financial Officer
On October 2, 2020, Brian Smith informed the Secretary of the General Partner of his intent to retire from his position as a director of the General Partner, effective October 8, 2020. Mr. Smith’s retirement was not due to any disagreement with the Partnership on any matter relating to the Partnership’s operations, policies or practices.
Also on October 2, 2020, Craig Coburn informed the Secretary of the General Partner that he will retire as a director and Chief Financial Officer of the General Partner, with his departure to be effective February 2021. Mr. Coburn’s retirement was not due to any disagreement with the Partnership on any matter relating to the Partnership’s operations, policies or practices. It is anticipated that Mr. Coburn will remain with the General Partner in the roles of director and Chief Financial Officer until the effective date of his retirement, and that upon such effective date and in connection with a thorough management of change process, Mr. Collins would succeed Mr. Coburn as the General Partner’s Chief Financial Officer. Until such time, Mr. Coburn will continue to serve as director and Chief Financial Officer of the General Partner. The appointment of Mr. Collins as Chief Financial Officer of the General Partner is subject to future Board approval.
Appointment of Director
Effective October 8, 2020, BP Midstream Partners Holdings LLC, sole member of the General Partner, appointed Mr. Jack Collins as a director of the General Partner.
Mr. Collins, 45, has served as President of BPX Energy since July 2020, prior to which he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BPX Energy from December 2014. Prior to joining BPX Energy, Mr. Collins held various executive roles in finance and investor relations, including at Denbury Resources, Inc and PostRock Energy Corp. He has more than 20 years’ experience across the energy sector. Mr. Collins has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Colorado and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Collins and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Collins was selected as a director. There are no relationships between Mr. Collins and the General Partner or any of its subsidiaries that would require disclosure pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
In connection with his appointment, Mr. Collins entered into an indemnification agreement with the Partnership and the General Partner. The information included in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 5.02 of this Current Report on Form 8-K.
Appointment of Co-Chief Operating Officer
Effective October 1, 2020, the Board of Directors of the General Partner appointed David Kurt as Co-Chief Operating Officer of the General Partner. Mr. Kurt shall have all responsibilities, duties and authority of the Chief Operating Officer, to be executed in conjunction and coordination with Mr. Gerald Maret. Upon the effective date of Mr. Maret’s resignation as Chief Operating Officer (previously announced), Mr. Kurt’s title shall change to Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. Kurt, 52, has served as Refinery Manager of the Whiting Refinery, and is responsible for all aspects of performance of BP plc’s (“BP”) largest refinery (“Whiting”) since May 2020. Since 2004, Mr. Kurt has held various positions at Whiting, including as Health, Safety, Security and Environment Manager from 2019 to 2020, Production Manager from 2017 to 2019, and Business Improvement Manager from 2015 to 2017. Mr. Kurt joined BP in 1996 and has a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Ohio State University.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Kurt and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Kurt was selected as Co-Chief Operating Officer. There are no relationships between Mr. Kurt and the General Partner or any of its subsidiaries that would require disclosure pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
In connection with his appointment, Mr. Kurt entered into an indemnification agreement with the Partnership and the General Partner. The information included in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporated by reference into this Item 5.02 of this Current Report on Form 8-K.
The Partnership is filing this Current Report on Form 8-K on the date which it is first making a public announcement of the appointment described herein in accordance with the instruction to paragraph (c) of Item 5.02 of Form 8-K. The press release issued by the Partnership announcing the appointment of Mr. Kurt as Co-Chief Operating Officer is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.