Mike Wirth

Last updated
Michael Wirth
Born (1960-10-15) October 15, 1960 (age 63)
Education University of Colorado, Boulder (BS)
Occupation(s)CEO, Chevron Corporation

Michael K. Wirth (born October 15, 1960) is an American businessman who has been the chairman and CEO of Chevron Corporation since 2018. [1] Previously, he was the vice chairman of the company. [2]

Contents

Early life

After graduating from high school, Wirth attended the University of Colorado, where he earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1982. [3] Wirth played football and basketball at school. [4]

Career

Wirth joined Chevron as a design engineer [5] in 1982. He worked in multiple sectors including engineering, construction, and operations. [2] In 2001 he became president of marketing for Chevron's Asia, Africa and Middle East region. [6]

He has been on the board of directors for Caltex Australia and GS Caltex. [7] In 2018, Wirth was widely speculated and eventually confirmed to succeed John S. Watson as CEO of Chevron. [1] [2]

Wirth is a member of the board of the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group in the oil industry. [8]

Climate Change Inaction

Wirth's company, Chevron, is responsible for one of the highest total carbon sequestration of any private company worldwide. [9] Despite these practices, Wirth's company has been involved in several greenwashing tactics, and was found by a Federal Trade Commission to be misleading its customers on its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [10] In response to CNBC host Jim Cramer asking if Chevron had considered calls to invest in alternative energy, Wirth responded that Chevron would "go back to our shareholders and let them plant trees". [11]

In 2022, the Guardian newspaper named Wirth one of the US' top 'climate stewards' due to Chevron's "greenwashing tactics to downplay the company’s environmental impact". [9]

Personal life

Wirth and his wife have four adult children. [12]

Wirth sleeps less than 6 hours per night, waking at 3.45am to do a 90 minute gym session. [13]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 Olson, Bradley (2017-09-28). "Chevron Names Michael Wirth Chairman, CEO". Wall Street Journal . ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  2. 1 2 3 DiChristopher, Tom (2017-08-22). "Meet Michael Wirth, the man who could soon lead Chevron". CNBC . Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  3. ↑ "Chevron CEO: Mike Wirth Biography". Brooksy. 2020-01-22. Retrieved 2021-05-29.
  4. ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/1902a8ef-7078-47e2-8a62-b6f0050ed569
  5. ↑ https://www.aspenideas.org/speakers/mike-wirth
  6. ↑ "Meet Mike Wirth, Chairman of the Board and CEO". Chevron Policy, Government and Public Affairs. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  7. ↑ "Wirth takes the reins at Chevron". The West Australian . 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
  8. ↑ Westervelt, Amy; Wright, Georgia; Olenick, Liat (2021-10-27). "The dirty dozen: meet America's top climate villains". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  9. 1 2 "The dirty dozen: meet America's top climate villains". the Guardian. 2021-10-27. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  10. ↑ "Chevron 'Greenwashing' Targeted in Complaint Filed With FTC". Bloomberg.com. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  11. ↑ "Chevron CEO explains why the oil giant's lower-carbon investments look past wind and solar energy". CNBC. 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  12. ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/1902a8ef-7078-47e2-8a62-b6f0050ed569
  13. ↑ https://www.ft.com/content/1902a8ef-7078-47e2-8a62-b6f0050ed569


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