TotalEnergies Kenya Gets New Board Chairman

TotalEnergies Marketing Kenya PLC, formerly Total Kenya, has announced the appointment of Mr. Olivier Van Parys as a Director and Chairman of the Board.

He replaces outgoing Chairman Mr. Jean-Philippe Torres, who resigned as a Director and Chairman of the Board with effect from 21st September 2021.

Van Parys has worked for TotalEnergies for the last 26
years, in roles including Lubricant Engineer for the company’s Research Centre Unit in Le Havre, France, Product Development Engineer for Lubricants and Managing Director in Congo, Ghana, Madagascar and the Netherlands.

He serves as the Executive Vice President of East and Central Africa division in Paris, France. In Kenya, TotalEnergies owns 176 service stations as well as fuel depots, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) filling plants, aviation depots and a lubricant blending plant.

It also runs the ‘Bonjour’ chain of convenience stores.

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Parys is the holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Mechanical Engineering from
Catholic University of Louvain. He also holds a specialized engineering
graduate degree in Automotive Engine Engineering from ENSPM (IFP
School).

He comes in to steer the organization at a time when the French oil major is investing in a pivot to green energy, with particular focus on wind and solar energy. TotalEnergies is seeking to reduce its reliance on oil products and generate revenues from electricity production, with staggered targets to 2030.

The rebrand to TotalEnergies was to reflect its shifting positioning as it aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with the plan receiving the overwhelming backing of the company’s investors.

The Ksh6.6 trillion ($60 billion) plan offered insights into the growing global demands for oil companies to shift from fossil fuel, and the rise of so-called activist investors.

“This outcome is, I think, the best response to commentators who predicted, and in some cases even hoped for an investor rebellion against the company, and responds to those who act more as activists than shareholders,” Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said of the plan.

According to the International Energy Agency, new fossil fuel projects must stop in 2021 if the world is to reach net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century.

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