Max Petroleum has said that FD Michael Young will be granted board status 17 months after joining, during which time he has seen the company through one of the most turbulent periods in its history.

When he was appointed, the gas exploration company stressed that it was not a board role, but Young found himself at the centre of efforts to help the leading AIM company when scandal broke.

Soon after joining Max Petroleum as CFO on 3 Aug 2006, Young was caught up in the share awards controversy that eventually led to CEO Steve Kappelle, COO Ole Udsen and five other employees, being turfed out at the end of 2007.

The investigation centred on the undisclosed receipt of share options by senior management. Max Petroleum discovered that shares issued by the company as partial consideration for a Kazahkstani gas field licence, secured in January 2006, were transferred to Udsen and other employees.

Young was not implicated in the controversy, but the issue was so acute that auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers demanded an independent valuation and independent assessment to make sure the gas field contract was above board before they would allow the release of Max Petroleum’s full-year accounts.

After the extensive management reshuffle, the company unveiled its new board structure last week. This sees Young not only retain his job, but win a board position.
The company said: ‘In conjunction with Mark Johnson joining the company as a director and CEO, Jim Jeffs will move to non-executive chairman of the board,
Lee Kraus and Bob Holland will resume their roles as non-executive directors, and Young will join the board as FD.’ The changes take place from 22 January.