Patriot Coal Corp. said on Friday that Bennett K. Hatfield has resigned as the coal company’s chief executive, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. Robert W. Bennett, Patriot’s marketing chief since 2009, has been named his successor. Bennett is an industry veteran who has also held senior-level positions at Peabody Energy Corp. and Magnum Coal. Patriot Coal mines for coal throughout Appalachia and emerged from bankruptcy in late 2013. Patriot filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2012 to get a grip on its $3 billion in liabilities, much of which is tied to the company’s environmental and legacy labor obligations. Its bankruptcy-exit plan contained two settlements with Arch Coal Inc. and Peabody, which spun off the mining units that came to comprise Patriot.
