Southwestern Energy Co. (NYSE: SWN) said Jan. 6 it has named Bill Way as president and CEO, succeeding Steve Mueller.

Way, previously president and COO, has been elected to the Houston company's board as well.

Bill Way, Southwestern, headshot, president, CEO

Mueller will continue to serve as director and as non-executive chairman until he retires in May.

Southwestern produces natural gas from more than 1.5 million acres of land principally located in the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, according to the company's website.

"SWN's robust competitive positioning in the lowest cost portion of the North American natural gas supply curve will provide the company with an attractive growth profile once commodity prices recover," Way said in a statement.

In the meantime, he said the company will be "redesigning" itself to win in a more competitive North American natural gas marketplace using its "disciplined 1.3 PVI hurdle" as its metric.

Way joined Southwestern Energy in 2011 as executive vice president and COO. As part of the company's succession planning, he was promoted to president in 2014.

Prior to joining the company he was senior vice president of Americas at BG Group Plc. He has also held various senior leadership and technical positions at ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP).

He is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a degree in industrial engineering and has an MBA from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Way currently serves on the International Advisory Board and the Advisory Board of the Mays Business School MBA Program at Texas A&M and the Cameron School of Business MBA Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston and on the board of directors of Boys and Girls Country.