Marathon Oil Taps Exxon Mobil Executive as Next CEO
Marathon Oil tapped an Exxon Mobil executive to become its next CEO when Clarence Cazalot retires at the end of the year.



Lee Tillman, Exxon Mobil's vice president of engineering, will take the top post at the energy exploration company in January 2014, Marathon Oil said Thursday.

Tillman's experience in some of the world's most complex energy fields, including Norway, Scotland and Indonesia, will help Marathon Oil as it works to expand its operations in Canada's oil sands, America's shale fields, and in Iraq and Angola.

Tillman, 51, has worked at Exxon Mobil since earning a Ph.D. at Auburn University. A chemical engineer by training, he is a car enthusiast and once said in an interview that as a child he dreamed of racing Formula 1 cars.

Dennis Reilley, Marathon Oil's current lead director, will be nominated to become nonexecutive chairman once Cazalot retires, the company said.

In 2011, Houston-based Marathon Oil spun off its refining unit into Marathon Petroleum.

Shares of Marathon Oil rose 1.5 percent to $33.90 in morning trading. (Click here to track the company's stock.)

—By Reuters

