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French oil giant Total names new bosses

The company named a new chairman and a new CEO on Wednesday following the death of its chief executive Christophe de Margerie in a plane crash in Moscow.

Total named Thierry Desmarest (left) and Patrick Pouyanne (right) as the new chairman and new CEO respetively
Total named Thierry Desmarest (left) and Patrick Pouyanne (right) as the new chairman and new CEO respetively AFP et Getty Images
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The decision to name Thierry Desmarest as chairman and Patrick Pouyanne as chief executive officer of one of the world’s biggest energy companies was taken at an emergency meeting held on Wednesday.

While Desmarest had been both chairman and CEO of Total from 1995 to 2007, Pouyanne currently heads the refining and chemicals division of the company.

Desmarest, who had once prepared De Margerie for the top job, now appears to have been asked to do the same for Pouyanne.

Meanwhile, French investigators joined Russian officials to probe the accident which Russian experts said was caused by criminal negligence on the part of senior airport officials.

Questions were raised over the safety of the Vnukovo airport following reports in the Russian media that an intern was in charge of directing the plane at the time of the crash shortly before midnight.

Three crew members on the executive jet were also killed.
 

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