Former SandRidge CEO sues company, claims he is owed millions in stock shares

A former CEO for SandRidge Energy is suing the company, claiming he is owed more than a quarter of a million shares as part of his employment contract.

Carl Giesler Jr. filed the lawsuit last week. SandRidge has yet to respond in court.

In July, the company announced it hired the sixth CEO in five years after Giesler stepped down. SandRidge at the time said Giesler left after 14 months on the job to pursue another career opportunity.

Giesler's lawsuit confirms he resigned from the company. As part of his employment contract, he claims the company still owes him 284,323 shares of SandRidge stock.

During Giesler's time as CEO, he led an effort to cut the company’s headquarters staff to just dozens of employees, and guided SandRidge through a process last year where it sold its landmark downtown campus to the state of Oklahoma for $35.4 million. 

"Giesler made a written demand for the unpaid (shares)," the lawsuit states. "SandRidge has refused to comply with the employment contract, thus necessitating this action."

Looking back:SandRidge changes CEOs, again. The dwindling company turns to a sixth new leader in five years

Since he left the company, SandRidge shares have more than doubled in price. On July 15, the day he resigned, shares were trading at about $5.29.

The stock price on Monday was hovering around $11, meaning that the value of shares Giesler claims he's owed is worth more than $3 million.

Chief Operating Officer Grayson Pranin replaced Giesler as CEO. According to his public LinkedIn profile, Giesler now serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Southwestern Energy in Houston.

Pranin joined SandRidge Energy a decade ago, serving in various engineering, operational and leadership roles over that time, according to the company. He is the latest CEO for the energy company that has experienced significant change in the past five years.  

When SandRidge Energy Inc. emerged from bankruptcy protection on Oct. 4, 2016, it had shed $3.7 billion of debt under the leadership of then-CEO James Bennett and had about 630 employees.

The next five years saw a carousel of CEOs come and go as the company divested major assets, including the downtown tower that it once called home.

In December, SandRidge announced a new home office in Bricktown, occupying a suite in 1 E Sheridan inside the old Stanford Furniture Co. building.

Staff writer Dale Denwalt covers Oklahoma's economy and business news for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Dale? He can be reached at ddenwalt@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @denwalt. Support Dale’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.