Sempra Energy adds to its board

Sempra Energy adds to its board

US LNG player Sempra Energy on Friday said that Cynthia Walker and Michael Mears have been appointed to the company’s board of directors.

Image courtesy of Sempra Energy

Walker is senior vice president of marketing and midstream operations and development for Occidental Petroleum, where she also formerly served as executive vice president and CFO.

Mears currently is chairman, president and CEO of Magellan Midstream Partners, Sempra said in its statement.

The appointments of Walker and Mears were mutually agreed upon by Sempra Energy’s board and Elliott Management Corporation as part of the cooperation agreement reached last month.

Walker and Mears will serve on the board’s LNG and business development committee, which, together with the board, will lead an expanded review of Sempra Energy’s businesses.

Along with Walker and Mears, three current independent board directors, William Rusnack, James Yardley and Alan Boeckmann, will serve on the committee, with Boeckmann as chair.

Walker has served in her current role with Occidental Petroleum since 2016, leading midstream operations and the company’s crude oil and natural gas marketing efforts. Previously, she was senior vice president of strategy and development for Occidental, overseeing the company’s business development and financial planning activities.

Walker joined Occidental Petroleum in 2012 as executive vice president and chief financial officer after 12 years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where she rose to the position of managing director.

Mears has been chairman, president and CEO of Magellan Midstream Partners since 2011. Previously, from 2008 to 2011, he was the company’s chief operating officer. Mears first joined Magellan Midstream Partners in 2002 when the company was formed and held a series of increasingly responsible management positions, including vice president of transportation and senior vice president of terminals and transportation.

Before Magellan, Mears worked in a range of management positions for its predecessor company, Williams Pipeline, beginning in 1985.