Chesapeake Energy hires Anadarko executive as CEO: WSJ

Chesapeake Energy Corp has hired Robert Douglas Lawler of rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp as chief executive, filling the post vacated by co-founder Aubrey McClendon, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chesapeake and Anadarko could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.

McClendon's departure on April 1 came after a tumultuous year in which a series of Reuters investigations led to civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer. Chief Operating Officer Steven Dixon had been appointed as interim CEO.

McClendon's exit was announced in late January, after a governance crisis and a liquidity crunch due to heavy spending on oil and gas properties.

Big shareholders took control of the board last June after McClendon was stripped of his title as chairman of the company he co-founded in 1989.

Lawler, who is senior vice president of international and deep-water operations at Anadarko Petroleum, will join Chesapeake on June 17, the Wall Street Journal said.

(Reporting By Maria Ajit Thomas in Bangalore; Editing by Edmund Klamann)