Commerce Energy Appoints Michael J. Fallquist Chief Operating Officer
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Commerce Energy (AMEX:EGR), a leading U.S. electricity and natural gas
marketing company, announced that effective March 10, 2008, it appointed
Michael J. Fallquist as its Chief Operating Officer.
Prior to joining Commerce Energy, Fallquist served as a Senior Manager
in the Equity Markets Division of Macquarie Bank Limited, an
international provider of banking, advisory and investment services,
from December 2005 to March 2008. Prior to that, Fallquist was a
Strategy Consultant with Macquarie Bank Limited from August 2004 to
December 2005. Fallquist received his Bachelor of Arts degree from
Colgate University and his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from
Cornell University.
"Michael fills an essential and strategically
important need at Commerce Energy,” said
Gregory L. Craig, the Company’s Chief
Executive Officer. Craig went on to say, "Fallquist
will serve a key role in helping management refocus our efforts to
reduce expenses and improve operational efficiency, increase capital and
credit strength and strengthen our systems and internal operations to
handle future risk-controlled and prudent growth.”
In connection with Fallquist’s employment, the
Compensation Committee of the Company, comprised of all independent
directors, as defined under the Amex Company Guide, intends to grant, as
soon as the application to list 375,000 additional shares of the Company’s
common stock is approved by the Amex, to Fallquist, an individual not
previously an employee or director of the Company, an option to purchase
125,000 shares of the Company’s common stock
at a per share price equal to the last sale price of a share of common
stock on the date of grant, and award to Fallquist 250,000 shares of
restricted stock. The option will be vested in full on the date of grant
and will have a term of six years and the shares of restricted stock
vested 150,000 on the date of the award with the remaining shares
vesting in equal 50,000 share increments on each of the first and second
anniversary dates of the award. To the extent that Fallquist voluntarily
resigns without good reason within the first twelve months of
employment, he is obligated to return to the Company the 150,000
restricted shares, or if he sold such shares, the proceeds of the sale.
The option and the restricted shares will be issued to Fallquist as
awards under an exemption from an Amex Rule which requires that
officers, directors, employees, or consultants of companies may only
acquire options or stock from option and equity compensation plans which
have been approved by the stockholders. Because there were not a
sufficient number of shares of common stock left in the Commerce Energy
2006 Stock Incentive Plan, the Board approved a special Incentive Plan
for Mr. Fallquist with a maximum of 375,000 shares to accommodate the
proposed grants of the above-referenced option and restricted stock
awards. Using this Amex exemption, no stockholder approval is required
for the Company to issue these shares to Fallquist. The exemption
requires disclosure of this type, approval of the issuance by the Company’s
independent compensation committee, and that the recipient not
previously have been an employee or director of the Company, each of
which have been and will be met when the grant is made, which is
expected to be shortly.
About Commerce Energy Group, Inc.
Commerce Energy Group, Inc. ("Commerce Energy”)
is a leading independent U.S. electricity and natural gas marketing
company, operating through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Commerce
Energy, Inc. and Skipping Stone Inc. Commerce Energy is publicly traded
on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) under the symbol "EGR.”
Commerce Energy, Inc. is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission and by state regulatory agencies as an unregulated retail
marketer of natural gas and electricity to homeowners, commercial and
industrial consumers and institutional customers.
Headquartered in Orange County, California, the Company also has an
office in Dallas, Texas, as well as several area offices located around
the U.S. For nearly a decade, customers have relied on Commerce to
deliver competitive pricing, innovative product offerings and
personalized customer service, in addition to quality gas and electric
services. For more information, visit www.CommerceEnergy.com.