Consol Energy announces Executive Team Retirements and Succession Plans

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Three members of CONSOL Energy's (NYSE: CNX) executive management team have announced their decision to retire; William J. Lyons, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and Robert Pusateri, Executive Vice President of Energy Sales and Transportation Services, will both step down on March 1, 2013.  P. Jerome Richey, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, also announced his plans to retire in March 2014. 

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Mr. Lyons spent more than 36 years with the company, where he rose from the position of accountant to Chief Financial Officer and made innumerable contributions to CONSOL Energy's success.  Prior to joining CONSOL Energy in 1976 as an accountant, Mr. Lyons served his country as an officer in the United States Air Force.  After joining CONSOL Energy, Mr. Lyons advanced through the company's Controllers Department, serving in such leadership roles as Accounting Manager, Assistant Controller and he was named Vice President and Controller in 1995.  In 2000, Mr. Lyons was promoted to his current position of Chief Financial Officer.   Mr. Lyons is a board member of Calgon Carbon (NYSE: CCC) and Duquesne University.   He is also a member of many professional organizations including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Management Accountants, and the American Accounting Association.  

Mr. Pusateri began his career with CONSOL Energy in 1974 as an accountant in the company's Controllers Department.  In 1977, he was promoted into CONSOL Energy's Marketing Department as a Contract Administrator.  Over the ensuing years Mr. Pusateri transitioned into Sales where he held various positions including District Sales Manager, General Sales Manager, and Vice President – Sales.  In August 2005, Mr. Pusateri was named President of CONSOL Energy Sales Company and in this capacity he was responsible for all marketing, sales, transportation, and distribution functions for CONSOL Energy.  In 2009, Mr. Pusateri was promoted to Executive Vice President – Energy Sales and Transportation Services.  In recent years he also assumed leadership of CONSOL Energy's Research & Development facility, Fairmont Supply, and Land Resources Division.  Mr. Pusateri is a member of several organizations, including the Pennsylvania Coal Association, the Michigan Coal Club, and currently serves as a board member of the Catholic Charities.

Mr. Richey joined CONSOL Energy in 2005 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.  From 2007 until 2009, Mr. Richey served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.  In his current position as Executive Vice President – Corporate Affairs and Chief Legal Officer, a position he has held since 2009, Mr. Richey oversaw the legal function at CONSOL Energy as well as the Government Relations, Public Relations, Human Resources and Environmental efforts of the company.  Mr. Richey is on the Board of the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation, Allegheny County Parks Foundation, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, the Epilepsy Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, and is a Trustee of the 1974 UMWA Pension Trust.  He is a member of the American Bar Association, Allegheny County Bar Association and Washington County Bar Association.  Effective January 1, 2013, Mr. Richey will assume a new position, Executive Vice President – Corporate Projects.  In this role, Mr. Richey will manage and oversee several significant matters that are strategically important to the organization.

"Today marks an extraordinary milestone in CONSOL Energy's history – three of our executive team members with a combined 82 years of service to the company have decided to retire.  Each brought unique strengths to the company," commented J. Brett Harvey, chief executive officer.  "Mr. Lyons' management of the company's financial assets and reporting functions has always been conducted with the highest of standards and ethics, which is demonstrated by the company's strong financial health today.  He was a key player in transitioning CONSOL Energy from a privately held company to a multi-billion dollar valued publicly traded corporation that is a leader in the coal and oil and gas industries.  Mr. Pusateri's contributions have played a pivotal role in transforming CONSOL Energy from a privately held coal company to a dual fuel producing publicly traded energy company.  He aggressively developed CONSOL Energy's sales portfolio to take advantage of the rapidly growing high sulfur coal scrubber market and helped lead the way in the development of emerging export markets.  Additionally, he has led in the development of our gas marketing efforts to meet the needs of our rapidly growing gas segment.  These efforts along with many other contributions enabled the company to post record revenues in 2011.  Finally, Mr. Richey has been instrumental in advising and guiding the company through a number of significant matters over the past several years and while I am disappointed to learn of his impending retirement, I am pleased that he will remain on board with CONSOL Energy next year.  His legal expertise, coupled with his practical perspective and strong business sense, have been valuable assets to our shareholders and our company on several fronts, including corporate governance."

In conjunction with this announcement and to ensure a smooth transition, several additional executive promotions were announced.  David Khani, who has served as the company's Vice President of Finance since July 2011, will be promoted to Chief Financial Officer effective March 1, 2013.  From February 2007 to July 2011, Mr. Khani was the Director and then the Co-Director of Research at FBR Capital Markets & Co. ("FBR"), an investment banking and advisory firm.  Prior to that time, Mr. Khani served as the Managing Director and Co-Group Head of FBR's Energy and Natural Resources Group covering the oil and gas exploration and production and coal mining industries. 

Effective January 1, 2013, Stephen W. Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, will be promoted to Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs Officer and will oversee the Legal, Environmental, Human Resources, Major Transactions, Government Affairs and Public Relations functions of the company.  In 2005, Mr. Johnson joined the company as General Counsel of CNX Gas Corporation, a subsidiary of CONSOL Energy.  Prior to that, Mr. Johnson served as a partner at Reed Smith LLP and an attorney/shareholder at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC. 

Effective November 15, 2012, James C. Grech was promoted to  Chief Commercial Officer; in this capacity he is responsible for CONSOL Energy's marketing, transportation services, CNX Land Resources, and Research and Development departments, as well as Fairmont Supply.  Mr. Grech most recently served as Senior Vice President of CNX Land Resources Inc., a subsidiary of CONSOL Energy.  He joined the company in 2001 as vice president of Energy Marketing and was promoted to Senior Vice President – Marketing of CONSOL Energy Sales Company, another subsidiary of CONSOL Energy, in 2005.  Prior to joining CONSOL Energy, Mr. Grech worked for Michigan power generator DTE since 1985.  He served as Vice President of Marketing for DTE Coal Services and Director of Business Development and Administration, Fuel Supply.

About CONSOL Energy
CONSOL Energy Inc. is a Pittsburgh-based producer of coal and natural gas. It has 12 bituminous coal mining complexes in four states and reports proven and probable coal reserves of 4.5 billion tons.  The company's premium Appalachian coals are sold worldwide to electricity generators and steelmakers. In natural gas, CONSOL has transformed itself from a pure-play coalbed methane producer to a full-fledged exploration and production company. The company is a leading producer in the Marcellus Shale, has an active exploration program in the Utica Shale and has proved natural gas reserves of over 3.5 trillion cubic feet. Operational safety is the company's top core value and CONSOL boasts a record of almost two times better than the industry average for underground bituminous coal mines.  In 2011, the company recorded its best safety record since it was founded in 1864.  CONSOL Energy is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Equity Index and the Fortune 500. Additional information about CONSOL Energy can be found at its web site: www.consolenergy.com.

SOURCE CONSOL Energy Inc.