Occidental Petroleum Names Insider Vicki Hollub as Next CEO

By Lauren Pollock 

Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Tuesday named company insider Vicki Hollub as its next chief executive and raised its quarterly dividend.

The company said Ms. Hollub will succeed Stephen Chazen as CEO after a "thorough transition period." She became president of the oil and gas operations last year and will continue in that role in the interim. She was also promoted to senior executive vice president of the company.

"After a thoughtful succession review, the board selected Vicki based on her strong track record of successfully growing our domestic oil and gas business profitably and efficiently," Mr. Chazen said. "I look forward to working with her to prepare her for the CEO role and to stepping aside when she is ready to take it on."

Ms. Hollub has nearly 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and held a number of other roles at Occidental.

The company, which is slated to report its quarterly results on Wednesday morning, has been selling assets to better focus its operations. Earlier this year it pegged a lower capital-spending budget for 2015, joining a long of other oil and gas companies to curb spending amid the big slump in crude-oil prices.

Occidental, however, said Tuesday that it would boost its dividend for the 13th consecutive year, bringing the annual payout to $3 a share from $2.88.

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