Bill Greehey, Chairman and CEO of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE: VLO), announced today that he will transition out of his role as CEO at the end of the year to focus on his responsibilities as Chairman. Executive Vice President and COO Bill Klesse has been appointed CEO, and has been elected to the board of directors and will serve as its Vice Chairman. The company has an orderly transition plan in place, which calls for Klesse to begin serving in his new role Jan. 1, 2006, and Greg King to continue as President.
“I plan to remain actively involved in the strategic direction of both Valero and Valero L.P., and plan to stay involved in Valero’s employee, governmental and civic initiatives,” Greehey said. “And, of course, I will remain a visible advocate for the company and for the refining industry.
“The timing couldn’t be better. At no point over the past 25 years has Valero achieved greater success than it has this year. And, the outlook for the future is just as bright,” he said.
Klesse echoed that sentiment saying, “I’m looking forward to working with Bill to continue Valero’s growth and success in the years ahead. With Bill’s continued involvement and the strong management team that is in place, I am confident that we’ll continue to grow and achieve tremendous success, while preserving Valero’s special corporate culture, which always puts employees first,” he said.
“Under Bill’s leadership, Valero has become the largest refiner in North America and one of the biggest success stories in corporate America today,” Klesse said. “The company is a leader in safety, environmental excellence, shareholder return and community service, and it’s one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work for.’ Bill and I will work together to continue to build on this success in the coming years.”
Strong Leadership Team
“I have never felt more confident in Valero’s leadership team,” said Greehey. “I have worked closely with Bill Klesse for a number of years, and I am confident in his business judgment and leadership skills. He has done a great job of overseeing our operations as our refining network has grown from 2 million barrels per day (BPD) at the time of our acquisition of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) to 3.3 million BPD today.
“Greg King has also done a great job in his current role overseeing the Finance, Administrative and Legal divisions. And, of course, his strengths and areas of expertise are very complementary to Bill’s so I feel like they will make a great team,” Greehey said.
With almost 37 years of industry experience, Klesse has held leadership positions in many different areas, including commercial operations and refining, corporate development and new ventures, planning and public affairs, logistics and strategy, marketing and oil and gas unit planning. He joined Valero as Executive Vice President of Refining and Commercial Operations when the company acquired UDS in 2001, and he was promoted to his current position in 2003.
Klesse started his career with Diamond Shamrock in 1969 as a junior process engineer at the company’s McKee refinery. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Dayton and a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in finance from West Texas A&M University.
Valero’s Record Success & Recognition
Greehey pointed out that it was a good time for this transition. “Valero has grown into a powerhouse refining company by acquiring refineries at a small cost to replacement value, and despite our aggressive growth, the Valero culture has never been stronger.”
Because of its superior financial performance and shareholder return in 2004, Valero was ranked No. 1 on Forbes magazine’s listing of the “Platinum 400-Best Big Companies,” and was selected as the “Oil Company of the Year” from companies around the world as part of the Platts Global Energy Awards. For being one of the top performers on the S&P 500 Index, Investor’s Business Daily ranked Valero No. 3 on its “Big Cap 20” list, and BusinessWeek placed it at No. 4 among the “BusinessWeek 50.”
Forbes also recognized Valero on its 2005 listings of “Best-Managed Companies in America” and “Fastest-Growing Big Companies,” while Fortune magazine named Valero one of America’s “Most Admired Companies” and one of its “100 Fastest-Growing Companies.”
For its commitment to its employees, Valero is consistently ranked one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by Fortune magazine, rising to No. 3 among the nation’s largest employers in 2005, and No. 23 overall. As a result of its community service work, Valero received the “Spirit of America” Award, United Way’s highest corporate honor, in 1992 and 2003, making it one of only two companies to have received the honor twice.
Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, with approximately 22,000 employees and expected annual revenue of more than $75 billion. The company owns and operates 18 refineries throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.3 million barrels per day, making it the largest refiner in North America. Valero is also one of the nation’s largest retail operators with more than 4,700 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under various brand names including Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Beacon. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.