OREANDA-NEWS. October 15, 2014. Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today named Mary A. Francis corporate secretary and chief governance officer effective May 1, 2015.

In her new role, Francis, 50, will counsel the board of directors and senior management of Chevron on corporate governance matters, manage the Corporate Governance Department and serve on the Law Function Executive Committee.  She succeeds Lydia I. Beebe, who is retiring from Chevron on April 30 after 37 years with the company.

"Mary brings years of leadership and management of Chevron's law function to the position," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson. "Her proven expertise will guide the board and senior management on important corporate governance issues."

Francis joined Chevron in 2002 as a trademark senior counsel in the Corporation Law Department.  In 2005, she was appointed to the position of lead senior counsel in Chevron Shipping Company.  In 2007, she was appointed to the position of managing counsel, Pipeline and Shipping in Global Gas.  In 2009, she was appointed general counsel, Chevron Asia Pacific, Exploration and Production Company.  She has held her current position as chief corporate counsel since 2012. 

Francis has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College, a Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley and a Juris Doctorate from the College of William and Mary.

Francis will assume the transitional position of deputy corporate secretary as of Dec. 1, 2014 through April 30, 2015. 

In commenting on Beebe's retirement, Watson said, "Lydia has had an extraordinary career at Chevron and has numerous achievements both inside Chevron and in the community.  For nearly 20 years as corporate secretary, she has provided exceptional leadership on corporate governance issues.  She played a vital role in helping the company implement processes to comply with new regulations, including Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank.  Additionally, Lydia was instrumental in managing governance aspects of significant transactions, including those with Texaco and Unocal." 

Beebe, 61, joined Chevron in 1977 as an attorney and held a variety of legal and government affairs positions before assuming her current position as corporate secretary and chief governance officer in 1995.  Recognized for her expertise in corporate governance, she was named Corporate Secretary of the Year in 2009 by Corporate Secretary Magazine and serves on the advisory board of the Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University. 

Beebe also has been a leader in the public and community arenas.  She has served on numerous boards of directors, including the National Judicial College, to which she was appointed by the American Bar Association; the Presidio Trust, to which she was appointed by President George W. Bush and the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission, to which she was appointed by Governor Pete Wilson and for which she was recognized as a Civil Rights Hero by the state of California.  Beebe currently serves on the governing boards of the Kansas University Endowment Association and the San Francisco Symphony.