Linn Energy CFO Exits for 'Other Opportunities'

Oil and natural gas producer Linn Energy LLC said late on Monday that Chief Financial Officer Kolja Rockov had left the company to pursue other opportunities and that it had promoted David Rottino to the role, effective immediately.

 

Linn, which operates in Texas, North Dakota, Michigan and other states with shale oil and natural gas formations, said Rockov's exit was a "mutually agreed upon decision."

 

Shares of Linn rose 4 percent to $2.34 on Tuesday as the broader markets jumped.

 

Rockov, who's biography still appeared on the Linn website as of Tuesday morning, joined the Houston-based company as CFO in 2005 and helped it launch its initial public offering in 2006.

 

Mark Ellis, Linn's chief executive, said in a statement that Rockov had been "central to Linn's growth."

 

Rockov's departure comes a month after Linn suspended its quarterly distribution to shareholders, a step executives said was designed to save cash. Yet the move proved wildly unpopular on Wall Street the day it was announced, with the company's stock falling 15 percent.

 

Rockov holds 411,578 shares of Linn, worth roughly $4.9 million, according to Thomson Reuters data.

 

Rottino joined Linn in 2008 and was most recently the company's chief accounting officer. He previously worked at ConocoPhillips (COP).