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Total gets new CEO, chairman

By on October 24, 2014

Following the recommendations of the Governance and Ethics Committee of Total, which met on Wednesday, the Board of Directors has finally named Thierry Desmarest as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Desmarest is currently a member of the Board and Honorary Chairman of the Board.

It also named Patrick Pouyanné as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Executive Committee. Until now, he was President of Refining and Chemicals and a member of the Executive Committee.

After holding several important executive positions in the Upstream segment in France and internationally over the past 14 years, Pouyanné successfully managed the transformation of the Refining and Chemicals segment, the firm said on its website on Wednesday.

Desmarest’s role as Chairman of the Board of Directors will conclude at the end of 2015 in accordance with the age limits stipulated in the Group’s bylaws. The positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer will then be recombined.

Following the designation by the Central Works Council of a board member to represent employee shareholders, which is scheduled for November 4, 2014, the Group’s Board of Directors will consist of 14 members, including one employee shareholder representative.

A graduate of the École Polytechnique and an engineer of the French Corps des Mines, Desmarest served as Director of Mines and Geology in New Caledonia, then as technical advisor at the Offices of the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Economy.

He joined TOTAL in 1981, where he held various management positions, then served as President of Exploration and Production until 1995. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Total from May 1995 until February 2007, and then as Chairman of the Board of Total until May 21, 2010. He was appointed Honorary Chairman and remains a director of Total and Chairman of the Total Foundation.

Pouyanné is a graduate of École Polytechnique and an Engineer of the French Corps des Mines. From 1989 to 1996, he held various positions in the French Industry Ministry and in ministerial offices, including Environment and Industry Technical Advisor to the Prime Minister from 1993 to 1995 and Chief of Staff to the Information Technology and Space Minister from 1995 to 1996.

He joined Total in January 1997, as Chief Administrative Officer of Total Exploration and Production Angola and became Group Representative in Qatar and CEO of Total E&P Qatar in 1999.

In August 2002, he was named Senior Vice President, Finance, Economics and Information Systems in Exploration and Production. In January 2006, he became Senior Vice President, Strategy, Business Development and Research and Development in Exploration and Production.

Pouyanné has been a member of Total’s Management Committee since May 2006. In March 2011, he was appointed Senior Vice President, Chemicals and Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals. In January 2012, Patrick Pouyanné was appointed President, Refining & Chemicals and member of the Executive Committee.

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors met on Wednesday and paid homage to Chairman and CEO Christophe de Margerie, who died tragically in an airplane accident in Moscow on the night of October 20-21, 2014.

 

[Punch]