The board of directors at Nova Chemicals (Alberta, Calgary / Canada; www.novachemicals.com) on 1 May announced that Randy Woelfel has stepped down from his post as CEO and board member, and is being replaced on an interim basis by CFO Todd Karran. Nova chairman Khadem Abdulla Al Qubaisi, who also serves as managing director of Nova owner International Petrochemical Investment Company (IPIC, Abu Dhabi / United Arab Emirates; www.ipic.ae), said that both the board and Woelfel “felt that this was the time for Randy to move into new challenges and to make a leadership change at Nova Chemicals”.

The company’s board has already begun looking for a permanent replacement and is said to be considering both internal and external candidates.