By Taylor Kuykendall

As the U.S. coal market has undergone sweeping changes in the past two years, companies in the sector also have seen a dramatic change in leadership.

CONSOL Energy Inc., for example, announced March 21 that Nicholas DeIuliis, 45, would succeed J. Brett Harvey, 63, as CEO of the company, effective May 7. The announcement comes on the heels of CONSOL's shift from a company focused on coal to a company increasingly betting on natural gas production.

Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, said the change in leadership at CONSOL is illustrative of a broader trend. A wave of hiring that occurred in the 1980s through the 1990s is now resulting in retirements. Coal executives who got their start in the industry in that period are now older and retiring, making way for younger executives, Bissett said.

"That's an amazing opportunity," Bissett said. "It's nothing against Mr. Harvey, who I think is very dynamic, but the idea is that you are getting younger folks that are running these operations. Is that a good thing? I think it will be in some cases. I think it will be a challenge in others."

A demographic shift in the industry is challenging coal companies at a time when market and regulatory struggles increasingly tighten around narrowing profit margins. As of March 25, the SNL Coal Index, which tracks stock prices of most publicly traded U.S. coal companies, has fallen 64% in just three years — from a value of 621.01 to 223.05.

Coal management changes abound

The shakeup at CONSOL came after several other prominent moves in the coal space in the past few years.

In February 2012, Arch Coal Inc. Chairman and CEO Steven Leer, who had been CEO of the company since its formation in 1997, announced he would be replaced by John Eaves later that year. Leer announced on Feb. 28 that he would retire from his role as chairman.

Less than two months after Leer stepped down as CEO, Alpha Natural Resources Inc. President Kurt Kost resigned from his post in the midst of a restructuring of Alpha's management team. Less than two years after Kost resigned, Alpha attracted attention for offering millions in retention bonuses to encourage its top executives to stay and "ensure stability" in management of the company.

In May 2012, Xinergy Ltd.'s first CEO, John Nix, stepped down from the post, citing family issues as reason he would retire after spending four years at the helm of the Central Appalachia coal production company. His replacement, Matthew Goldfarb, took over as CEO until November 2013, when he left over a "difference in view" over the company's strategic direction.

In July 2012, near the bottom of a sharp decline in the stock performance of the SNL Coal Index, Richard Navarre, president of Peabody Energy Corp.'s Peabody Americas unit, retired from the company just four months after being put in charge of the division and a few months before taking on a board position with Natural Resource Partners LP.

Other Peabody executive changes were announced soon after — Chairman and CEO Gregory Boyce entered into a " transition agreement" in May 2013. Eric Ford announced his retirement as executive vice president in the office of the CEO in November 2013 shortly after Glenn Kellow was named president and COO.

In October 2012, Westmoreland Coal Co. announced that Keith Alessi would retire as CEO and assume a role as executive chairman.

In June 2013, both CFO Ernest Cleave and COO David Stone announced they were resigning from Cline Mining Corp. the same day it was revealed that the company was being delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

In July 2013, Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., a producer of iron ore and metallurgical coal, announced that Chairman, President and CEO Joseph Carrabba would retire by Dec. 31, 2013. He had been president and CEO of the company since September 2006. On Feb. 13, Cliffs appointed Gary Halverson as president and CEO.

On Aug. 20, 2013, coal and gas producer Rhino Resource Partners LP announced CEO and President David Zatezalo was retiring as CEO in October 2013. Zatezalo had been CEO of Rhino since before the company went public in 2010. Zatezalo was replaced by current president and CEO Christopher Walton on Oct. 21, 2013.

Signal Peak Energy LLC President and CEO John DeMichiei announced he would retire in November 2013. DeMichiei was retiring after more than 40 years of extensive mining operations experience, the company said. Earlier in the year, DeMichiei's academic credentials fell into question during a proxy fight for control of Stillwater Mining Co.

Aging coal industry seeking new faces

According to an analysis of SNL Energy data, the average age of the current CEOs across 16 coal companies was 57. The average CFO age was 53, the average COO age was 54 and the average age of the president was 55.

“For far too long, we've been kind of dependent on ourselves for our leadership ranks.”

 Bill Bissett, president, Kentucky Coal Association

The advancing age of executives and management, Bissett said, is driving a need for younger talent from the executive ranks down to the coal miners.

"This is just part of a generational change this industry is going to go through, either good or bad, it is what is," Bissett said. "I think even though they are in retirement, it doesn't necessarily mean the person isn't going to be in the industry in some capacity."

Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said he is seeing an increase in younger people showing interest in the coal industry.

"I swear I've been out and talked to guys who say they've got such good, young workers now," Raney said. "The mining engineering school has more students than it's had in a long time. I feel like there's a lot of interest and a lot of what I would call traction with finding talent out there."

Bissett said he thinks that there will also be more women and minorities coming into leadership roles in the industry. As new, younger people enter the business, he said there will also be a change in how open they are to new strategies and approaches to communication and community engagement.

"I think you might also see more people external of the coal industry come in, which I think is a very good thing," Bissett said. "For far too long, we've been kind of dependent on ourselves for our leadership ranks."

Industry battered by continual challenges

In September 2013, executive recruiter Bruce Peterson, the managing director at Korn Ferry's Houston office, told SNL Energy that coal executives were burning out from challenges faced by the industry domestically and internationally. In a recent interview, Peterson said the industry has changed little since then and that coal companies continue to be "beat up by the U.S. EPA."

"In general, energy will continue to have more and more challenges, especially from the public that doesn't really understand environmental impacts and what has caused the resurgence of the energy industry in North America," Peterson said.

“These guys don't love a fight, but they sure the hell never back away from one.”

 Bill Raney, president, West Virginia Coal Association

Domestically, Peterson said, the coal market has been relatively flat in recent months. As the U.S. market has limited growth potential, he said companies are increasingly looking at new opportunities, and he expects more consolidation among U.S. producers.

Raney said he suspects most coal executive retirements are unrelated to market stresses, but instead a function of other personal or company-specific factors.

"These guys don't love a fight, but they sure the hell never back away from one," Raney said, speaking generally of the coal industry. "I don't think it's a matter of them shying away or thinking it's too tough. I've not met that guy yet."

The find details on public U.S. coal companies, including information on company executives, go to SNL's Company Briefing Book Search.