Independent directors of the U.S. supermajor Chevron have selected Wanda M. Austin as the lead independent director, effective May 25, 2022. The company also made senior leadership changes.
Austin succeeds Ronald D. Sugar in the role, who will remain on the Chevron Board. Austin has served on the Chevron Board since December 2016.
“We are pleased to announce Dr. Austin’s selection as our next lead independent director,” said Mike Wirth, chairman and CEO. “Wanda was selected by the independent directors of the Board based on her thoughtful leadership and contributions in a variety of roles, including as chair of our Board Nominating and Governance Committee and as former chair of our Public Policy and Sustainability Committee. We thank her for accepting this responsibility to lead and provide independent oversight of management.”
“I’d also like to express my appreciation to Dr. Sugar for his strong leadership and sound judgment as a lead independent director,” continued Wirth. “Ron has served in this role since 2015, as the company experienced the pandemic and geopolitical challenges, secured multiple acquisitions, and embraced its role in the energy transition as we pursue our objective of safely delivering higher returns, lower carbon.”
Austin will continue to serve as chair of the Board Nominating and Governance Committee and member of the Management Compensation Committee. Sugar will continue to serve on the Board Nominating and Governance Committee and Management Compensation Committee.
Furthermore, Chevron announced a simplified organizational structure and senior leadership changes intended to strengthen execution and pace to deliver on the company’s objectives of higher returns and lower carbon.
Effective October 1, the company will consolidate its Upstream, Midstream, and Downstream business segments under a new executive vice president of Oil, Products, and Gas who will oversee the full value chain. As part of this change, the company is consolidating into two Upstream regions – Americas Exploration and Production and International Exploration and Production.
The company is also organizing its Strategy & Sustainability, Corporate Affairs, and Business Development functions under a new executive vice president of Strategy, Policy & Development.
“We’ve made significant progress over the last two years, and these changes position us to further enhance execution across all aspects of our business as the energy system evolves,” Wirth added. “It will also bring strategy, policy, and business development into tighter alignment as we focus on leveraging our strengths to deliver lower carbon energy to a growing world.”
Chevron made the following personnel appointments – Mark Nelson as the EVP of Strategy, Policy & Development, Nigel Hearne as the EVP of Oil, Products & Gas, Clay Neff as the President of International Exploration & Production, Bruce Niemeyer as the President of Americas Exploration & Production, Balaji Krishnamurthy as the VP of Chevron Strategy & Sustainability.
In addition, the company named Jay Johnson, the EVP of Upstream, as the executive vice president and senior advisor who will support the transition until January 31, 2023. Johnson has more than 41 years of service to the company.
Jay Pryor, VP of Chevron Business Development will retire after more than 43 years of service to the company, effective July 29, 2022. Steve Green, President of Chevron North America Exploration & Production will also retire after more than 24 years of service on September 30, 2022.
“I’m confident that our new team will continue to effectively lead the company in delivering the affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy that enables human progress,” said Wirth. “Their contributions will be essential in enabling us to advance our objectives of higher returns, lower carbon.”
“I want to especially thank Jay Johnson, Jay Pryor, and Steve Green for all they’ve done for our company, our industry, and our employees over the course of their careers. Each of them exemplifies the finest qualities of character, integrity, and excellence, and their influence will be felt for many decades still to come,” Wirth added. Rigzone.com