Williams announced that CFO Jack McCarthy, 59, will retire at the end of the year. McCarthy will provide the company with consulting services to assist in the transition of a few critical areas. He served the past 10 of his 16 years with Williams in the CFO position. “Jack has made significant contributions to the company during his tenure and we wish him well in his retirement,” said CEO Steve Malcolm. “We are taking steps to ensure a smooth transition of this important role in our company.” Williams expects in the first quarter to name its new CFO. The company’s selection process will identify and evaluate candidates both within Williams and outside the company. The company’s controller and chief accounting officer, Gary Belitz, will be the interim successor to McCarthy.

El Paso Corp. said that Joel Richards III has retired as executive vice president of administration. Richards joined the company in 1984 and was responsible for a number of critical corporate operations, including human resources, information technology, environmental health and safety, and materials and facilities management. “Joel Richards played a crucial role in developing the highly-disciplined corporate culture that defines El Paso’s workforce,” said CEO William A. Wise. El Paso also announced that David E. Zerhusen, executive vice president of administration, will assume Richards’ responsibilities going forward. Zerhusen has served as senior vice president and deputy general counsel for El Paso and in the past held various legal positions with Tenneco Inc. and its subsidiaries.

Unocal Corp. said that A. J. “Tony” Best, 53, has been named president and CEO of its Pure Resources Inc. subsidiary. The position was created after Unocal successfully acquired all of Pure Resources’ outstanding common stock in November. Best, who has a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University, has spent the last 23 years in the energy industry. Prior to his current consulting practice, he served as president of ARCO Latin America, based in Caracas, Venezuela. During his career with ARCO, he held several other key positions within the company, including president of ARCO Permian, vice president of external affairs for ARCO Alaska and Prudhoe Bay field manager.

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