Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors;

Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain

Officers.

Departure of Chief Financial Officer

On January 2, 2020, Amy B. Schwetz, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Peabody Energy Corporation. ("Peabody" or the "Company"), notified the Company that she will be leaving the Company to pursue another opportunity. Ms. Schwetz and the Company agreed that Ms. Schwetz will continue with the Company into the first quarter of 2020 in order to promote a smooth transition of leadership. Ms. Schwetz's departure is not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's financial reporting, internal controls, accounting or auditing, or its policies or practices.

Appointment of Interim Chief Financial Officer

Effective January 6, 2020, the Board appointed Mark Spurbeck, age 46, the Company's Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, to serve in an interim role as the Company's Chief Financial Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, while a search for a permanent Chief Financial Officer is conducted.

Mr. Spurbeck has more than 20 years of accounting and financial experience, most recently serving as the Company's Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer since March 2018. In this role, he has overseen Peabody's finance, treasury, tax, internal audit, financial reporting and corporate accounting functions. Prior to joining Peabody, Mr. Spurbeck served as Vice President of Finance and Chief Accounting Officer at Coeur Mining, Inc., a diversified precious metals producer, from March 2013 to January 2018. He also previously held multiple financial positions at Newmont Mining Corporation, a leading gold and copper producer, including Group Executive, Assistant Controller. Mr. Spurbeck also previously served in several financial positions at First Data Corporation, a financial services company, and Deloitte LLP, an international accounting, tax and advisory firm. Mr. Spurbeck is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Hillsdale College.

In accordance with Instruction 2 of Item 5.02 of Form 8-K, the Company will amend this Current Report on Form 8-K to provide details of Mr. Spurbeck's compensation relating to his new role as required.

There are no family relationships, as defined in Item 401 of Regulation S-K, between Mr. Spurbeck and any of the Company's executive officers or directors or persons nominated or chosen to become a director or executive officer. There is no arrangement or understanding between Mr. Spurbeck and any other person pursuant to which Mr. Spurbeck was appointed. There are no transactions in which Mr. Spurbeck has an interest requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

In connection with this executive leadership transition, the Company issued a press release. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference into this Item 7.01. The information set forth in and incorporated into this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is being furnished pursuant to Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any of the Company's filings under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof and regardless of any general incorporation language in such filings, except to the extent expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing. The filing of this Item 7.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not be deemed an admission as to the materiality of any information herein that is required to be disclosed solely by reason of Regulation FD.



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Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.




  (d) Exhibits.

 Exhibit
   No.           Description

   99.1            Press Release dated January 8, 2020.

   104           Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL
                 document).


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