Marathon Petroleum’s CEO search concludes with a familiar face

Maryann T. Mannen, president since Jan. 1, is set to succeed Michael J. Hennigan as CEO, effective Aug. 1. In doing so, she’ll become the firm’s first female CEO—after previously becoming its first female CFO at the company.

Courtesy of Marathon Petroleum Corporation

“I am honored by the trust placed in me to lead this great company,” Mannen said in a statement. “My priorities align with those that have made us the peer-leading energy investment we are today—an unwavering focus on safety, the environment, and operational performance.” She joined Marathon as EVP and CFO in 2021, serving in the role until her promotion to president. John J. Quaid became the EVP and CFO in January. 

As chief executive, Mannen’s CFO experience should prove quite beneficial. “In most companies today, the CFO is viewed as the clear No. 2 to the CEO,” Scott W. Simmons, co-managing partner of executive search firm Crist Kolder Associates, told Coins2Day. “This expansion of responsibility, coupled with the unique vantage point from which a CFO operates, better positions CFOs as CEO successors.”

Based on the firm’s data from 674 Coins2Day 500 and S&P 500 companies, last year 8.4% percent of CEO roles were filled by CFOs; in 2013, that figure was just 5.8%.

Regarding women leading companies across industries, Coins2Day recently reported that female CEOs are now running more than 10% of the Coins2Day 500. “I absolutely believe the increase in the number of women CEOs will continue, as we have a long way to go on the path to correction,” Simmons said.

Findlay, Ohio-based Marathon operates the nation’s largest refining system, producing 3 million barrels of crude oil per calendar day across 13 refineries. (In 2021, Marathon closed the $21 billion sale of Speedway to 7-Eleven.)

There are industries—oil and gas certainly among them—that have been especially male dominated, Simmons noted. Women made up just under 14% of senior managers at energy firms, according to a 2022 analysis, although three major oil companies do have women at the helm of finance: Exxon Mobil SVP and CFO Kathryn A. Mikells, Shell CFO Sinead Gorman, and BP CFO Kate Thomson.

Could one of them be the next CEO of an oil firm?

You can read the rest of my story on Mannen and Marathon’s CEO and board transition here.

Sheryl Estrada
[email protected]

Leaderboard

Dave Keffer, corporate vice president and CFO at Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has announced his intent to retire, effective Feb. 21, 2025, to spend more time with family. Kenneth B. Crews, VP of business management and CFO for the Space Systems sector, will succeed Keffer, effective Oct. 1. Crews will first become vice president of corporate finance on July 1, and work directly with Keffer for a transition period. Before his current role in the Space Systems sector, Crews was CFO for Mission Systems. He has worked in multiple sectors at Northrop Grumman since joining the company in 2004.

R. David Rosato, CFO at Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) and Berkshire Bank announced that he has decided to step down to pursue other interests, effective June 14. The company and the bank have appointed chief accounting officer Brett Brbovic as EVP and CFO. Brbovic joined the company from KPMG LLP in 2012 and has served as chief accounting officer since 2015. He previously served as interim CFO from Oct. 7, 2022, to Feb. 6, 2023.

Big Deal

A new report by S&P Global Market Intelligence data finds the value of global private equity and venture capital funding rounds declined to $17.20 billion in April, down 10% year over year. During the same period, the number of funding rounds fell 3.5% to 1,277.

Going deeper

Demand for second-home mortgages fell twice as fast as mortgage demand for primary homes, according to a new report by Redfin. Homebuyers in the U.S. Took out 90,772 mortgages for second homes in 2023, down 40% from a year earlier and down 65% from the height of the pandemic housing boom in 2021, Redfin noted. 

Overheard

“We are encouraged not only to see an increase in search usage, but also in customer satisfaction.”

—Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced Tuesday that Google will roll out AI capabilities in its flagship search product to all U.S. Users this week, Coins2Day reported. Google Search has already answered billions of queries with Gemini technology, Pichai said.