Under Fire, Chesapeake Co-Founder to Depart
From The New York Times
By Clifford Krauss And Michael J. De La Merced
Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake Energy’s daring and innovative co-founder, will step down as chief executive on April 1 after months of scrutiny over how he mixed his personal finances and those of the corporation.
Mr. McClendon’s retirement, announced by the company on Tuesday, comes as the national boom in natural gas drilling, which he helped set in motion, is fading, diminishing Chesapeake’s prospects.
Over the past decade, Mr. McClendon aggressively explored for gas and outbid competitors in one shale field after another. Not only did his small Oklahoma company become the nation’s second biggest gas producer after Exxon Mobil, but Mr. McClendon also assembled a trophy room of assets that included a piece of the Oklahoma Thunder basketball team, a winery and a $12 million collection of antique maps.
