Baron Oil plc has made further board changes with the appointment of Gerry Aherne as new independent non-executive chairman, with immediate effect.
Technical director Jon Ford will leave the board at the end of April 2024 but will be retained in a part-time consultancy role to act as a technical adviser.
John Chessher has joined the board as an independent non-executive director with immediate effect.
At the executive level, Rob Collins has been appointed as Baron’s chief financial officer, currently a non-board position.
Experienced in insurance and financial markets, Mr Aherne is a founding director of directors’ and officers’ liability insurer PRI Group plc, and has held non-executive directorships with Henderson Group plc, Mecom Group plc, Omnis Investments Ltd and Iveagh Ltd.
He was investment director at Schroder Investment Management for 16 years, chairman of Electric & General Investment Trust plc, and of Cenkos Securities plc (2012 to 2018).
Mr Aherne is currently managing partner of Javelin Capital Partners LLP.
Dr Chessher is an investment industry professional who has held CEO and director-level positions at asset management and investment banking firms, include CEO of Cenkos Securities Asia and head of Asia Pacific Research at Schroder Investment Management.
He holds an MA in Engineering Science from Oxford University and DBA, MSc and MBA qualifications from Henley Business School.
Dr Chessher is a CFA charter-holder and currently combines non-executive and advisory roles with his position as a lecturer at Henley Business School.
Mr Collins has more than 20 years’ experience in natural resources corporate finance, advising on a range of corporate transactions spanning various commodity groups and transactions primarily at Evolution Securities, Canaccord Genuity Europe and GMP Securities Europe.
He has advised on numerous IPOs, public and private equity raises and M&A transactions for many UK, Canadian and Australian listed companies as well as acting as CFO for Victoria Oil & Gas plc.
Mr Collins began his career at Coopers and Lybrand and is a qualified chartered accountant.