John Whelan to Lead Imperial Oil as Brad Corson Announces Retirement

Imperial Oil has announced that CEO Brad Corson will retire this spring after a 42-year career with Imperial and its parent company, ExxonMobil. Corson, who has led Imperial since 2020, will be succeeded by John Whelan, currently the company’s Senior Vice President of conventional and heavy crude production. Whelan, a native of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, began his career with ExxonMobil in Alberta in 1988.

Whelan will take over as president of Imperial on April 1, 2025, and will assume the role of chairman and CEO following Imperial’s annual meeting on May 8.

Lead Director David Cornhill praised Corson for steering the company through the global pandemic and achieving record financial performance, including strong upstream production and downstream operations.

During Corson’s tenure, Imperial expanded its strategic projects, including growth initiatives at Kearl Oil Sands and Cold Lake, the Strathcona renewable diesel facility, and its role in the Pathways Alliance to reduce oil sands emissions. Whelan, who has extensive global experience with ExxonMobil, is expected to continue building on these efforts.

Imperial Oil, one of Canada’s largest oil sands producers, and operates the Kearl lake facility north of Fort McMurray.