Occidental’s Hollub will step down, a rare woman in the US oil industry.

Occidental Petroleum announced on Friday that CEO Vicki Hollub - one of the'most prominent women' in the male dominated oil industry - would resign next month and hand the reins over to Richard Jackson, an insider.

In March, it was reported that Hollub would be retiring after 10 years at the head of the U.S. Oil and Gas Company. Jackson, who has been with the shale company since 2003 and is currently its chief operational officer, will be joining the board on June 1.

Hollub's tenure was defined by his debt-fueled acquisition in 2019 of Anadarko Petroleum, a controversial and bold deal that reshaped Occidental’s business. Investors were also closely scrutinized.

The decision triggered a multi-year process of transformation that focused on reducing debt, selling assets and tightening up operational discipline.

Her departure will mark the end to more than 40 years at the Houston-based oil company where, in 2016, she was the first American woman to be named CEO of a major U.S. producer.

The company that she will "handover" is more focused on producing oil and gas than the one that she inherited. This is partly because of the additional moves Hollub took, such as the purchase of CrownRock, a shale producer, for $12 billion in 2024, and the divestment, completed earlier this year, of its chemical business, which was worth $9.7 billion.

Hollub was the head of Occidental Permian Basin Operations before becoming the new boss. He built the company up to become one of the largest operators in the?largest U.S. oil region.

Hollub, who is retiring from Occidental in the near future, will continue to serve as a director on its board. (Reporting and editing by Katha Kaalia and Vallari Shrivastava, both in Bengaluru. Leroy Leo and Shilpa Majumdar).

(source: Reuters)