Imperial Appoints Senior Vice President, Upstream

Source: Imperial

Imperial announced the appointment of Cheryl Gomez-Smith as senior vice president, Upstream, effective May 1, 2024. Ms. Gomez-Smith, currently director of safety and risk, ExxonMobil Global Operations and Sustainability, succeeds Simon Younger, who was appointed lead country manager and general manager Australia Conventional, ExxonMobil Upstream.

“On behalf of Imperial, I would like to thank Simon Younger for his strong leadership and management over the past five years during his time as senior vice president, Upstream and previously as vice president, production,” said Brad Corson, chairman, president and chief executive officer. “During this period, Simon oversaw continued growth in Imperial’s upstream portfolio, with increased production and reliability at Kearl, the company’s oil sands mining operation, and implementation of lower emission technology at Cold Lake.”

Younger, a native of Australia, holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tasmania, Australia. He began his career with Esso Australia, an ExxonMobil affiliate, in 1997 as a rotating equipment engineer supporting both offshore and onshore assets. Younger has held several roles in Australia, the United States, Nigeria and Canada. In 2019, he moved to Calgary, Alberta to become vice president, production for Imperial and was appointed Imperial’s senior vice president, Upstream on June 1, 2020.

Gomez-Smith earned a bachelor of engineering in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame in the United States, and an MBA from Tulane University of Louisiana. She began her career in 1990 as a facilities engineer in Midland, Texas, and has held various technical and leadership roles of increasing responsibility in the United States, Qatar, Russia and Kazakhstan, where she served as lead country manager.  Gomez-Smith is currently the Director of Safety and Risk in ExxonMobil’s Global Operations and Sustainability organization in Houston, Texas, where she provides strategic leadership and oversight for ExxonMobil personnel and process safety.

“With her global experience, Cheryl brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her new role as Senior Vice President for our upstream organization as we continue our focus on strong operational performance, increasing production and reducing costs across our assets,” said Corson.