Occidental Petroleum Corp., Houston, announced Friday that Richard Jackson, its senior vice president and chief operating officer, will succeed Vicki Hollub as president and chief executive officer when Hollub retires on June 1.
The company's board also approved Jackson's appointment as a board member, effective the same date. Hollub, who has led the company since 2016 and has sat on its board since 2015, will remain a director after stepping down from her executive role.
Hollub, who spent more than four decades at Occidental, framed the timing around a completed strategic overhaul. "Following the recently completed decade-long transformation of the company, we now have the best portfolio and the best technical expertise in Occidental's history," she said in a statement. "With this strong foundation in place, a clear path forward, and a leader like Richard, who has the experience and vision to elevate Occidental, now is the right time for this transition."
Board Chairman Jack Moore credited Hollub with positioning the company for its next chapter. "Richard is the right leader to guide the company into its next phase of our strategy," Moore said.
Jackson joined Occidental in 2003 through its Middle East operations and has held a range of technical and leadership roles over the past two decades, including president of U.S. onshore oil and gas, president of low carbon integrated technologies, general manager of the Permian Delaware Basin and enhanced oil recovery oil and gas, and vice president of drilling Americas. In his current role as COO, he has concentrated on well performance improvement, organic development, operational execution, and technology deployment to drive cost efficiency.
Jackson pointed to organic growth as a priority. "I am committed to delivering value from our significant and high-quality resource base," he said. "We have a tremendous opportunity to focus on organic improvement and execution to deliver meaningful value for our employees, shareholders, and partners."
