Gulf Island chairman to retire. Board to be reduced to seven members

The chairman of U.S. offshore facilities fabrication company Gulf Island has decided to retire from his position effective upon the expiration of his current director term.

Gulf Island said on Monday that its chairman, John “Jack” P. Laborde, will retire at the company’s 2020 annual meeting of shareholders.

With Laborde’s retirement and the anticipated expiration of the terms of two additional directors at the 2020 annual meeting, the board will be reduced to seven members.

Laborde served as a director of the company for over 20 years and as chairman of the board since 2013. He also served as a member of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee.

The board unanimously elected Michael A. Flick to succeed Laborde upon the conclusion of the 2020 annual meeting. Flick has been a board member since 2007 and during his tenure has served, at various times, as the chairman of its Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee and Compensation Committee.

Richard Heo, Gulf Island’s president and CEO, said: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Jack for his tireless commitment to the company for over two decades. Jack’s leadership, industry knowledge and guidance have been invaluable to Gulf Island and we have benefited from his service to the company and our stakeholders. We wish him the very best in the years ahead.”

Laborde added: “It has been my privilege to serve Gulf Island as a director since 1997 and I am very proud to have been part of its history. I am also thankful for the experience of serving with my colleagues on the board, whom I greatly admire and respect. I have tremendous confidence in Richard, Mike, the board and the company’s leadership team, and I am confident that Gulf Island’s best days are yet to come.”

Gulf Island also said that its board unanimously approved a proposal to amend the company’s articles of incorporation to de-classify the board.

The board currently has three classes, with members of each class being elected to three-year terms. The amendment to the articles of incorporation will provide that directors will be nominated for election for one-year terms beginning with the class of directors up for election at the 2020 annual meeting and, thereafter, as the term of each successor class expires.

This phase-in approach allows each class of directors to complete the term for which they were previously elected by the shareholders.

If the proposed amendment is approved by the shareholders, the board will be fully de-classified, with all directors standing for annual election at the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders.

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