Exxon Mobil has appointed Dan Ammann, former president of automaker General Motors, to lead the oil company’s energy transition business.
The appointment signals a shift in Exxon to hire outsiders for senior roles after activist investors won three seats last year on the U.S. producer’s board. Exxon last year hired Kathryn Mikells from drinks maker Diageo as its finance chief.
Dan Ammann replaces Joe Blommaert as chief of its Low Carbon Solutions unit. Joe Blommaert will retire after 35 years at the oil producer.
In December, Dan Ammann left the Detroit automaker where he was chief executive of its self-driving car subsidiary Cruise. Prior to running Cruise, Dan Ammann served as the Detroit company’s president and chief financial officer, and was a Wall Street banker with Morgan Stanley before that.
At Exxon, he will lead its energy transition business, which oversees efforts to generate new revenue from carbon sequestration technologies and hydrogen production.