By Grace Noto, Reporter
Chevron Corp. Chief Technology Officer Eimear Bonner will take on the role of finance chief for the oil and gas company effective March 1, 2024, the company announced in a Sunday press release as part of wide-sweeping senior leadership changes. Pierre Breber, the company’s current CFO, will retire from his role after a 35-year stint at Chevron, the company said. Breber has served as CFO for three years.
Chevron also waived its mandatory retirement age of 65 for its CEO and Chairman Mike Wirth, who will turn 63 this year, the company said. Wirth, who has logged a 41-year stint at the company, has served as Chevron’s CEO and chairman of the board since 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The company’s board “regularly reviews its long-term succession plans, and concluded it has the right leader and strategy in place to continue the company’s successful trajectory,” a lead independent director for the company, Wanda M. Austin said of the decision to waive Wirth’s retirement age in a statement included in the release.
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A 24-year alum of the San Ramon, California-based company, Bonner, 49, has served as CTO and president of the Chevron Technical Center for over two years, according to her LinkedIn profile. As CTO, Bonner is responsible for the deployment of technology and digital solutions across the company, according to the release.
Bonner has a “proven track record leading large, complex organizations,” CEO Wirth said in a statement in the release. “I am confident that her deep business expertise and engaging leadership approach will enable her to build upon Chevron’s strong foundation and drive further value for shareholders.”
Bonner, who will report to Wirth in her new role as CFO, has served in a variety of positions during her time at the oil and gas giant, including as director of the Tengizchevroil in Kazakhstan before transitioning to her current role.
Operated as a joint venture, the company is working to complete construction for both its Future Growth Project and Wellhead Pressure Management Project — which are aimed at enabling the company’s facilities to continue to work at full capacity — within the region. The company expects WPMP startup to begin by the end of the year, Wirth said in April during the company’s first quarter earnings call.
The company also announced that Balaji Krishnamurthy, currently the company’s VP of strategy and sustainability, will become VP of the Chevron Technical Center, and that Molly Laegeler, VP of its San Joaquin Valley business unit, will transition to VP of strategy and sustainability, among other moves.
The company released early financial results for its second quarter ahead of its planned earnings call this coming Friday. Chevron reported US$6 billion in earnings for its second quarter ended June 30, a figure which, while topping analyst estimates, is nearly a 50 per cent drop from the record US$11.6 billion in earnings it reported for its second quarter in the year-earlier period.
For the year’s first quarter, Chevron reported US$6.6 billion in earnings, compared to the US$6.3 billion it reported for the same period in 2022, according to results released in April. Both quarters follow a blockbuster 2022 for the company, which reported a record US$35.5 billion in earnings for its full year, a 127 per cent jump from 2021, according to its proxy statement.
Chevron declined to comment beyond its Sunday press release.
