Changing guard at Chevron

Chevron is the latest major resources player in the state to announce a change in leadership, after selecting a successor to current managing director (Australia) Roy Krzywosinski, who will hand over the reins in June.

Mr Krzywosinski will be followed in the role by current deputy managing director Nigel Hearne, and will head to Texas as vice-president of engineering in Chevron’s Energy Technology Company.

Both men will commence in their new roles on June 1.

Mr Hearne was appointed to the deputy managing director role in January, after serving as vice-president of the Appalachian and Michigan business unit in the US.

Chevron Asia Pacific exploration and production president Steve W Green said Mr Hearne was well qualified to run the commencement of operations at the Gorgon and Wheatstone facilities.

Gorgon Train 1 commenced LNG production earlier this year, but was then halted due to issues with a refrigerant circuit.

Trains 2 and 3 are still under construction.

“Mr Hearne’s appointment reflects his strong downstream and upstream operating experience, combined with his proven record of leading large, complex operations, such as our Richmond refinery,” Mr Green said.

Chevron Australia follows Alcoa, Iluka Resources and BHP Billiton in changing parts of their executive line up that have a big Western Australian focus.

Long-serving Alcoa managing director Alan Cransberg left the role in September last year, handing the position to former vice-president at Alcoa Refining Michael Parker.

BHP Billiton Iron Ore president Jimmy Wilson was axed from the role in February, after four years in the position, as the mining giant looked to centralise its management structure into Melbourne.

In his place the company appointed an Asset President for WA iron ore, Edgar Basto.

This March, Iluka Resources revealed managing director David Robb would leave the role in the second half of this year, after a decade in the job.

That company is understood to be pursuing both internal and external options for a replacement.

A further executive change that will have a distinct WA impact is at Rio Tinto.

Chief executive Sam Walsh is leaving that role at the start of the 2017 financial year, to be replaced by Jean-Sebastien Jacques, who currently head of the copper and coal business.