CITGO Selects a New CEO
HOUSTON — CITGO Petroleum Corp. is getting new leadership. The company's board of directors named Carlos E. Jorda CEO.
According to CITGO, Jorda's selection came after a thorough and extensive search process that began earlier this year following some unrest in the company.
In February, the Venezuelan Congress appointed a new board with Luisa Palacios as chairwoman. That moved followed CITGO's decision to cut ties with its parent, state-run oil firm Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA) to meet U.S. sanctions, as Convenience Store News previously reported.
The sanctions were aimed at the removal of socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the United States and about 50 other countries no longer recognize as the country’s legitimate leader.
As CITGO's new CEO, Jorda is well acquainted with the company. He previously served as president of PDV America and chairman of CITGO's board. He is a chemical engineer with five decades of experience in the international oil and gas industry. During this time, he held several leadership positions within PDVSA in both the United States and Venezuela, including oversight of PDVSA's refining and marketing operations.
For the past sixteen years, Jorda served as a consultant to large companies and investors in the oil and gas industry globally, as well as a board member for Delek USA, a Brentwood, Tenn.-based refining and marketing company.
"The board was searching for a CEO with a solid professional background in operations and who could guide CITGO during this unprecedented time. With his understanding of the company, its shareholder and the geopolitical landscape in which the company operates, we believe that Carlos Jorda is the right person for the job," Palacios siad.
Headquartered in Houston, CITGO operates three refineries located in Corpus Christi, Texas; Lake Charles, La.; and Lemont, Ill., and wholly and/or jointly owns 48 terminals, nine pipelines and three lubricants blending and packaging plants. It supplies a network of approximately 4,900 locally owned and operated branded retail outlets in 30 states and Washington, D.C.