JKX Refills the Board

East Europe-focused producer JKX Oil & Gas has appointed three non-executive directors to the board with immediate effect, the company said December 11. They are Adrian Coates, Michael Bakunenko, a director of JKX' biggest shareholder Eclairs; and Vladimir Rusinov, the boss of Proxima. The latter two both have worked at investment banks lending to the upstream sector. Rusinov quit the board back in June along with the CFO and the CEO, while Bakunenko stood but was not then appointed to it.

Coates is a director of Thor Explorations, a Toronto-listed mineral exploration company, and like Rusinov and Bakunenko has experience in the investment banking industry with a specialisation in the natural resources sector.

The board now consists of chairman Hans Jochum Horn, Coates, Bakunenko, Rusinov, Andrei Shtyrba and Vladimir Tatarchuk.  

Also with immediate effect, the audit committee will now consist of all the above, except for Tatarchuk. Horn said: "Good corporate governance is important to JKX and the board that we have announced today reflects a balance which represents the interests of all stakeholders. We expect to announce an additional independent director in the near future, to further strengthen the independence of the board. We then want to concentrate on delivering the company's potential."