Imperial Oil Chairman, President and CEO Brad Corson has declared plans to retire from the company after 42 years of service, Canada’s Alberta-based Imperial said in a Feb. 13 press release.

The board of directors has appointed John Whelan as president effective April 1 and to assume the roles of chairman and CEO on May 8.

Imperial Oil Chairman, President and CEO Brad Corson has declared plans to retire from the company after 42 years of service, Canada’s Calgary, Alberta-based Imperial said in a Feb. 13 press
Imperial Oil Chairman, President and CEO Brad Corson has declared plans to retire from the company after 42 years of service. (Source: Imperial Oil)

Corson took the helm of Imperial on Jan. 1, 2020 and steered the company through the challenges of the global pandemic, with the E&P emerging to deliver the strongest financial years in company history, said lead director David Cornhill.

“During his tenure, Imperial achieved repeated records for upstream production and exceptional downstream performance, delivering significant shareholder value through unprecedented share price appreciation and cash returns through record share repurchases and dividend growth,” Cornhill said.

Corson started his career with Exxon Mobil in 1983. He took on various technical, operations, commercial and managerial assignments globally. Corson was president of Exxon Mobil Upstream Ventures and vice president of Exxon, overseeing its global upstream acquisitions and divestment programs.

Whelan also kickstarted his career at Exxon in 1988 holding various technical, project, operations, commercial and management positions in Canada, the U.S. and Norway.

The board of directors has appointed John Whelan as president effective April 1 and to assume the roles of chairman and CEO on May 8.
Imperial Oil's board of directors has appointed John Whelan as president, chairman and CEO following Corson's retirement. (Source: Imperial Oil)

In 2013, Whelan served as Imperial’s vice president of upstream production. He was later named senior vice president of upstream in 2017, Imperial said.

Whelan is currently Exxon’s upstream senior vice president, responsible for the company’s conventional and heavy oil global business line across the U.S., Canada, Europe, Caspian, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

“John brings extensive experience at both Imperial and on global Exxon Mobil portfolios to successfully deliver exceptional operational performance and enhanced competitiveness, which will build on this strong momentum and continue to grow shareholder value going forward, and we welcome him back to Imperial,” Cornhill said.

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