Occidental Petroleum Chairman Ray Irani has withdrawn as a nominee to
serve a new term on the oil and gas producer's board, and was absent from
Friday's shareholder meeting in Santa Monica.
Irani, 78, has been with the company since 1983. He took over as chairman and
chief executive in 1990 after the death of company founder Armand Hammer. He
gave up the CEO post two years ago and was scheduled to retire from the company
in 2014.
It was not known who will become the company's next chairman, but shareholders
decided to replace Irani on the board with Edward Djerejian, a former U.S.
diplomat who has served as an ambassador to Israel and an assistant secretary of
State.
There had been speculation that Irani might retire sooner than expected after he
ran afoul of some investors when he tried to replace the company's current chief
executive, Steve Chazen, earlier this year. A number of analysts that cover the
company accused Irani of mishandling succession plans.
The board earlier this week said Chazen would remain CEO through 2014.
Shares of Occidental rose $3.08, or 3.5%, to $91.16 in late-morning trading on
the New York Stock Exchange.
___
(c)2013 the Los Angeles Times
Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
