Hess Chairman retires due to health reasons

Hess Corporation, an independent oil and gas company, announced on Wednesday that its Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Mark Williams, is retiring effective immediately, due to health reasons.

James Quigley, former chief executive officer of Deloitte and a current director of Hess, has been named by the Board to succeed Dr. Williams, also effective immediately, the company added.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, John Hess, Chief Executive Officer, and James Quigley said: “It has been a privilege and pleasure to work with Mark, as we have taken important steps together to preserve our financial strength and build our portfolio of high quality assets, especially in the current oil price environment.

“Today, the company is well positioned to achieve strong growth and financial performance when oil prices recover. On behalf of the entire Board, we extend our sincere gratitude to Mark for his service and wish him and his family well.”

Quigley led Deloitte, an accounting and consulting firm. Quigley is also a member of the boards of directors of Wells Fargo and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals.

He previously was co-chairman of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue, a director of the Center for Audit Quality, a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation, a member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting.

Hess also on Wednesday declared a regular quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share payable on the Common Stock of the Corporation on March 31, 2016 to holders of record at the close of business on March 17, 2016.