California Resources Corp. (CRC) appointed Tiffany “TJ” Thom Cepak as chairman of its board of directors, the independent E&P company said in an April 15 release.
Cepak has 26 years of oil and gas industry experience, including both financial and operational appointments. She has been on the CRC board since 2020, joining as a director as part of the company’s emergence from bankruptcy in October.
Her appointment as chair replaces Mark A. “Mac” McFarland, who was named as permanent president and CEO of CRC last month. McFarland had served as interim CEO since December, following the departure of the company’s former top executive Todd Stevens.
In a statement commenting on Cepak’s appointment as board chairman, McFarland said: “TJ brings tremendous expertise to the role, and her appointment as chair separates the role of chair from that of president and chief executive officer and demonstrates our board’s commitment to strong corporate governance practices.”
McFarland will continue to serve as a director of the company.
“Mr. McFarland’s service as chair of the board has been critical in guiding the company following its emergence from bankruptcy,” Cepak added in a statement. “I look forward to his continuing input as a director, and his ongoing leadership as the company’s president and chief executive officer.”
Cepak also serves as directors on the boards of Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. and Penn Virginia Corp.
Previously, Cepak served as CFO of Energy XXI Gulf Coast Inc. from August 2017 until its sale to Cox Oil Offshore Inc. in October 2018 and, prior to that, KLR Energy Acquisition Corp. from January 2015 until its business combination with Rosehill Resources Inc. in June 2017. She also served as CFO of EPL Oil & Gas Inc. from 2010 until its sale to Energy XXI in 2014 and was on the board of directors at Yates Petroleum Corp, from 2015 until its sale to EOG Resources Inc. a year later.
Prior to joining EPL in 2000, Cepak was a senior reservoir engineer with Exxon Production Co. and ExxonMobil Co. with operational roles including reservoir engineering and subsurface completion engineering for numerous offshore Gulf of Mexico properties.
Cepak holds a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Illinois and an M.B.A. in Management with a concentration in Finance from Tulane University.
Based in Santa Clarita, Calif., CRC describes itself as an E&P company committed to environmentally sustainable and responsible development of its properties. The company has a large portfolio of lower-risk conventional opportunities in each of California’s four major oil and gas basins: San Joaquin, Los Angeles, Ventura and Sacramento.