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Expand Energy CEO Steps Down, Relocates Headquarters to Houston Area

Energy and Utility

Business Honor
10 Febuary, 2026

Natural Gas Producer Shifts Leadership and Strategic Focus amid Market Transformation.

Expand Energy is a natural gas exploration and production company that has announced a number of critical leadership and strategic changes, including the resignation of CEO Domenic Dell’Osso, as well as plans to relocate its corporate headquarters to the greater Houston area. Mike Wichterich, the company’s Chairman, will serve as the interim CEO to help lead the company into a new era of operations and strategic direction.

Spring, Texas, will become the company’s new corporate headquarters in mid-2026. This relocation places Expand Energy in the center of the global natural gas market ecosystem. Wichterich has assured all Oklahoma City-based employees that the relocation would have little to no effect on their jobs, primarily affecting executive leadership.

Dell'Osso resigned after a successful career with Chesapeake Energy following the company’s bankruptcy in 2021. During his tenure at Chesapeake, Dell'Osso adopted a disciplined approach to growth by focusing on generating free cash flow and returning capital to investors instead of seeking aggressive growth through property acquisitions. One notable element of his achievements was overseeing the $7.4 billion all-stock merger between Chesapeake and Southwestern Energy in 2024 that created Expand Energy.

Expand Energy's stock behaved in line with the market after the announcement of the company's move to Houston, dropping almost 6%. Wichterich discussed the move of the company's commercial and marketing teams as part of its strategy to grow; thus, it will provide greater access to and integration into a primary source for natural gas, the Houston area.

The interim leadership change is timely for Expand Energy, which has a current market cap of about $25 billion. Thus, the leadership change and geographic change set up for Expand Energy a potential period (referred to as the "potentially transformative period") of great change as it strives to maintain its position as the largest natural gas producer in the US.