UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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| Item 5.02. | Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On October 31, 2023, the Board of Directors of Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Sebastien Morin as Chief Operating Officer of the Company, effective November 6, 2023, to serve until his successor is chosen and qualified or until his resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal from office.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Operating Officer of the Company, Mr. Morin, 47, served as President and Chief Operating Officer at WesternZagros Resources Ltd. (“WesternZagros”), a privately-owned petroleum operating company with production sharing contracts in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, from October 2021 to October 2023. Prior to his role at WesternZagros, Mr. Morin was Vice President Global Drilling and Completions at the Company from July 2020 to September 2021. Prior to his appointment as Vice President Global Drilling and Completions, Mr. Morin held progressively more senior positions at the Company in Colombia and in the Corporate Office in Calgary from August 2014 to June 2020. Prior to his original tenure at the Company, Mr. Morin held increasingly more senior technical and managerial positions in upstream and downstream at Imperial Oil (Esso) from July 2012 to July 2014, ExxonMobil from September 2008 to June 2012, and Imperial Oil (Esso) from May 2001 to August 2008. Mr. Morin has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geological Engineering from the University of Waterloo.
Mr. Morin has no familial relationships with any director or other executive officer of the Company. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Morin and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Morin was appointed as Chief Operating Officer, and there are no related party transactions between Mr. Morin and the Company that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Mr. Morin’s Mr. Morin’s initial annual base salary will be $400,000 Canadian Dollars. Mr. Morin’s target award under the Gran Tierra Short-Term Incentive Plan for 2023 will be 80% of his annual base salary, prorated for actual service for the year, and his target award opportunity under the Gran Tierra Long-Term Incentive Program for 2023 is expected to be 320% of his annual base salary and is comprised of a mix of stock options and Performance Share Units. Mr. Morin will also have the ability participate in Gran Tierra’s employee share purchase plan. Mr. Morin will be entitled to participate in and to receive all rights and benefits under any life insurance, disability, medical, dental, health and accident plans maintained by the Company for its employees and for its executive officers specifically.
A copy of the Company’s press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Morin as Chief Operating Officer is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Form 8-K.
| Item 9.01. | Financial Statements and Exhibits. |
| (d) | Exhibits. |
| Exhibit Number | Description | |
| 99.1 | Press Release dated October 31, 2023. | |
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File - the cover page XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document. |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| Date: October 31, 2023 | GRAN TIERRA ENERGY INC. | ||
| By: | /s/ Ryan Ellson | ||
| Name: | Ryan Ellson | ||
| Title: | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | ||