Exxon Mobil Corp. chief executive Lee Raymond announced Aug. 4 he was retiring as head of the world's largest oil company at the end of the year. Raymond was with the company for more than 42 years. He started as a production research engineer in Tulsa, Okla., in 1963.
Exxon Mobil said it was expected that company president Rex Tillerson, 53, would succeed the 66-year-old Raymond, who has become something of a hate figure for environmentalists because of his dismissal of global warming fears.
Exxon Mobil said its succession planning was based on a "long-standing system of management development that supports the core values of discipline, integrity, reliability, consistency of purpose and a commitment to technology".
"This change in leadership is consistent with the board of director's succession plan developed years in advance and further demonstrates the strength of the management development system," it said.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2005
