NEW CEO is buying shares Back in Canada, Don Gray's Alberta- and Saskatchewan-focused Gear Energy Inc. (GXE) edged down two cents to 68 cents on 1.05 million shares. New president and CEO Kevin Johnson, who took over on Monday, wrapped up his first week on the job with a show of confidence. A new SEDI filing showed that he bought 26,000 shares today at 70 cents. He now owns 101,758 shares, having previously received 75,758 shares on Monday in what may have been part of his sign-on package (SEDI merely describes them as "compensation for services").
Mr. Johnson's arrival coincided with the departure of former president and CEO Ingram Gillmore, who announced on March 6 that he would retire on April 8, after 14 years on the job. He published his final monthly letter to shareholders on March 19. In it, he indulged in a walk down memory lane -- 14 years, 370 wells and "the occasional existential crisis" -- and then turned to "the bright future that I see for Gear." He said he remains a shareholder and has confidence in Gear's "exciting" drilling opportunities and "very strong" balance sheet. The incoming Mr. Johnson has Gear "in good hands," opined Mr. Gillmore, describing his successor as "passionate, driven and talented."
This is considerably more commentary than Mr. Johnson offered. Gear's press release on March 6 introduced him as an engineer who most recently worked for Artis Exploration (a private Duvernay producer), but Mr. Johnson stayed mum, without so much as an introductory quotation. Investors should learn more about his thoughts on Gear if he sticks to his predecessor's habit of writing monthly letters, which usually arrive midmonth. In the meantime, a spot of insider buying is a nice start.