Imperial appoints Whelan to succeed retiring president, CEO

Imperial Oil Ltd. has appointed John Whelan as president, effective Apr. 1, 2025. Chairman, president, and chief executive officer, Brad Corson, plans to retire from the company after 42 years of service. 

At the end of Imperial’s annual meeting of shareholders on May 8, 2025, Whelan, who currently serves as ExxonMobil Upstream's senior vice-president responsible for the conventional and heavy oil global business line, will assume the role of chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Imperial. 

Whelan began his career with ExxonMobil in 1988 and has held various technical, project, operations, commercial, and management positions in Canada, the US, and Norway. 

Corson, who began his career with ExxonMobil in 1983, has served as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Imperial since Jan. 1, 2020 (OGJ Online, Sept. 17, 2019). Prior to his appointment to Imperial, he was vice-president of Exxon Mobil Corp. responsible for overseeing global upstream acquisition and divestment programs.