Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf‘s administration last week announced that Secretary of Policy and Planning John Hanger has resigned his position. A former secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates the oil and gas industry, and a one-time candidate for governor, Hanger was selected for the role by Wolf in December 2014 (see Shale Daily, Dec. 11, 2014). The administration said Hanger was resigning to spend more time with his wife and daughter, both of whom live in Massachusetts. “It is difficult to leave, but I cannot be in two places at once,” Hanger said. “Commuting regularly to and from Massachusetts and doing my demanding job has become impossible.” Hanger served as DEP secretary from 2008-2011 under former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell. Hanger ran against Wolf in the 2014 Democratic primary race, but withdrew two months before the vote. Like Wolf, he supported enacting a natural gas severance tax in the state. The administration said Hanger would be replaced by Sarah Galbally, who has served as deputy secretary of policy and planning.

Thomas Usher, chairman of the board of Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC), will retire following the company’s shareholder’s meeting April 27, the company said. The board of directors has elected Gary Heminger, MPC president and CEO, to succeed Usher as chairman in addition to his current duties. Usher joined United States Steel Corp. in 1965 and played a pivotal roles in both the separation of Marathon Oil and U.S. Steel in 2001 and the spinoff of MPC from Marathon Oil in 2011. Heminger joined Marathon in 1975 and has worked in a variety of groups and functions, including auditing, marketing and commercial roles, and in Marathon’s pipeline subsidiary. He held several executive positions in Marathon’s downstream business, and was appointed president of MPC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon, in 2001. Heminger is also chairman of the board and chief executive officer of MPLX GP LLC.