ST. LOUIS, Feb. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Arch Coal, Inc.
(NYSE: ARCH) today announced that John W.
Eaves will retire as Arch's chief executive officer at the
corporation's annual meeting on April 30,
2020, and will assume the position of executive board
chair. James N. Chapman, who
has served as Arch's board chair since the company completed its
restructuring process in October
2016, will transition to lead independent director at that
time. Paul A. Lang, Arch's
president and chief operating officer, will succeed Eaves as chief
executive officer and is joining the board.
"Today's announcement represents the culmination of a
long-scheduled and carefully planned succession process," said
Chapman. "Through his vision and leadership, John has built a
tremendous platform for long-term value creation and growth,
spearheading Arch's transformation into a premier U.S. producer of
metallurgical products for the global steel industry. The
board is delighted that he has agreed to accept the new executive
chair role, where he can continue to use his great strategic
abilities and vast market knowledge to help lead the company
forward."
"It has been an honor to serve as Arch's chief executive officer
over the course of the past eight years," Eaves said. "While
I'm ready to pass the baton as CEO, I'm excited about the
opportunity to continue to work with the board and the management
team in this new capacity. At the same time, I am highly
confident that Paul is the ideal person to succeed me as CEO.
Paul has been an instrumental and driving force at Arch for many
years, and brings to the CEO role tremendous experience and
expertise in all aspects of our business. I know he will lead
Arch to even greater success in the years ahead."
"I am humbled that the board has chosen me as Arch's next CEO,
and I look forward to building on the strong foundation that John
has established," Lang said. "I share John's conviction that
Arch's long-term success will depend upon our ability to drive
operational excellence throughout the organization while
maintaining our steadfast commitment to industry-leading mine
safety and environmental stewardship practices. Moreover, I
am confident that Arch is on the right strategic course, and I'm
excited about working with the entire Arch team to deliver
exceptional results for our owners and other key stakeholders going
forward."
John W. Eaves has served as
Arch's chief executive officer since 2012 and as a member of Arch's
board of directors since 2006. During his tenure with the
company, he has also held the positions of president and chief
operating officer; senior vice president of marketing; and
president of Arch Coal Sales, the corporation's marketing
subsidiary. He joined the corporation in 1987. He
earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky and an Advanced Management
Degree from Harvard Business School,
and is past chair of the National Coal Council and past vice chair
of the National Mining Association. In addition to his duties
at Arch, Eaves currently serves on the board of CF Industries
Holdings, a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of
nitrogen products.
James N. Chapman has served as
Arch's board chair since 2016, and serves as a board member of
Hexion, Inc., Neenah Enterprises, Inc., Eco-Bat Technologies, Inc.
and American Media LLC. He has also served on the boards of
AerCap Holdings NV, Tower International and Tembec Inc. during the
past five years.
Paul A. Lang has served as Arch's
president and chief operating officer since 2015. In this
capacity, Lang is responsible for the corporation's mining
portfolio and its marketing and logistics functions. Lang
joined Arch in 1984 and – prior to his current role – served as
Arch's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
He previously held a variety of engineering and operating positions
at both the company's eastern and western operations, and served on
Arch's board of directors from 2014 through 2016. Lang is a
member of the board of Knight Hawk Coal Company and the National
Mining Association, and served on the board of Advanced Emissions
Solutions from 2013 through 2017. He earned a Bachelor of
Science degree from Missouri University
of Science and Technology (Rolla)
in mining engineering, is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management
Program, and was awarded an honorary professional mining
engineering degree from Missouri
University of Science and Technology. He is past chair
of the University of Wyoming's School
of Energy Resources Council and a past member of the Wyoming
Healthcare Commission.
U.S.-based Arch Coal, Inc. is a top coal producer for the global
steel and power generation industries. Arch operates a
streamlined portfolio of large-scale, low-cost mining complexes
that produce high-quality metallurgical coals in Appalachia and
low-emitting thermal coals in the Powder River Basin and other
strategic supply regions. For more information, visit
www.archcoal.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains
"forward-looking statements" – that is, statements related to
future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking
statements often address our expected future business and financial
performance, and often contain words such as "should," "appears,"
"expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks,"
or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address
matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us,
particular uncertainties arise from changes in the demand for our
coal by the domestic electric generation and steel industries; from
legislation and regulations relating to the Clean Air Act and other
environmental initiatives; from competition within our industry and
with producers of competing energy sources; from our ability to
successfully acquire or develop coal reserves; from operational,
geological, permit, labor and weather-related factors; from the Tax
Cuts and Jobs Act and other tax reforms; from the effects of
foreign and domestic trade policies, actions or disputes; from
fluctuations in the amount of cash we generate from operations,
which could impact, among other things, our ability to pay
dividends or repurchase shares in accordance with our announced
capital allocation plan; from our ability to successfully integrate
the operations that we acquire; from our ability to complete the
joint venture transaction with Peabody Energy in a timely manner,
including obtaining regulatory approvals and satisfying other
closing conditions; from our ability to achieve expected synergies
from the joint venture; from our ability to successfully integrate
the operations of certain mines in the joint venture; and from
numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale,
including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or
regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future
results to be materially different than those expressed in our
forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. For a
description of some of the risks and uncertainties that may affect
our future results, you should see the risk factors described from
time to time in the reports we file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE Arch Coal, Inc.