Occidental Petroleum Corp said chairman Ray Irani would step down after shareholders withheld support for him to remain on the board following a push by certain investors to reject him after what some saw as a “fight at the top” of the company.
Chief executive Steve Chazen announced the news at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Friday.
It is a jarring end for Irani, ahead of his planned retirement next year after more than two decades at the top of the Los Angeles-based oil company.
Taking over as CEO in 1990 from tycoon Armand Hammer, who built Oxy up from a small firm over three decades, Irani oversaw more dramatic growth for the company but raised eyebrows with his lavish pay packages.
Chazen, 66, took over from the 78-year-old Irani two years ago, having served alongside him in the executive suite since 1994.
Shares of Occidental rose 3% to $90.66 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trade.