Chevron CEO Becomes API Chairman

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has revealed that Chevron Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth will serve as the chairman of the API’s board of directors for a two-year term.

Wirth - who was elected chairman effective January 1, 2022 - succeeds Phillips 66 Chairman and CEO Greg Garland. The API noted that Garland will remain a member of the organization’s executive committee.

“In this defining moment for America’s energy future, API is honored to have Mike Wirth’s vision, experience, and leadership at the helm of our board of directors,” API President and CEO Mike Sommers said in an organization statement.

“Greg’s wisdom has been invaluable to our industry as we confronted truly unprecedented times during his tenure, and I am especially grateful for Greg’s leadership as we developed API’s Climate Action Framework,” Sommers added in the statement.

Following his appointment, Wirth said, “the oil and natural gas industry’s ongoing leadership and innovation are critical to advancing a lower carbon future and solving global energy challenges on a massive scale”.

“It’s a privilege to lead API’s board in this moment of transformation as energy systems evolve to meet the demands of a changing world. API can harness the unique problem-solving talents, technologies and expertise of the industry to deliver affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy while addressing the challenge of climate change,” Wirth added.

Wirth first joined Chevron in 1982 as a design engineer after earning a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado in 1982, Chevron’s website highlights. He was elected to the positions of chairman and CEO by Chevron’s board of directors in September 2017 and assumed the roles on February 1, 2018.

Prior to his current role, Wirth served as the vice chairman of the Chevron board in 2017 and as the executive vice president of Midstream & Development for Chevron Corporation from 2016 to 2018. Wirth also previously worked as Chevron’s vice president of Downstream & Chemicals from 2006 to 2015. In addition to his duties at API, Wirth also serves on the board of directors of Catalyst and the executive committee of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of The Business Council, the National Petroleum Council, the Business Roundtable, the American Society of Corporate Executives and the American Heart Association CEO Roundtable.

In January 2020, the API announced that Garland would serve as the chairman of the API’s board of directors for a two-year term. Garland had recently served the board as chair of the finance committee and succeeded the chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil Darren Woods.

The API represents all segments of America’s natural gas and oil industry, according to the organization’s website. Founded in 1919, the API’s mission is to promote safety across the industry globally and to influence public policy in support of a strong, viable U.S. oil and natural gas industry, its site outlines.

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