James A. Watt, president and CEO of Warren Resources Inc. (WRES), was appointed as a director, the company said Nov. 30. The appointment became effective Nov. 23. Watt will fill one of the current vacancies on the board of directors and will stand for reelection at the 2016 annual meeting of stockholders.

The company also said that Frank T. Smith Jr. was appointed as senior vice president and CFO, effective Nov. 25. Brian Gelman stepped down as interim CFO but will continue as chief accounting officer and controller.

Most recently, Smith was senior vice president and CFO of Dune Energy Inc. He took those roles in 2007 and had been company secretary since January 2012, Warren added. Prior to Dune, Smith was president and CFO of Sonoran Energy Inc., and was also senior vice president of finance and corporate secretary for Remington Oil and Gas Corp. until its 2006 acquisition by Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc.

He also was executive vice president and manager of energy lending at the Bank of Texas, and was director in First National Bank of Boston’s energy and utilities division. He also worked in energy banking departments of other U.S. publicly traded financial institutions.

Smith has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Delaware, and a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Warren Resources Inc. is based in Denver.