The supervisory board of French oil giant Total (Paris; www.total.com/en) has unanimously appointed two managers to head the group following the sudden death of Christophe de Margerie, who fell victim to a plane collision in Moscow on 20 October – see Plasteurope.com of 22.10.2014.

Thierry Desmarest (68), honorary chairman of the supervisory board, will become Total’s new chairman, while Patrick Pouyanné, who currently serves as president of Refining & Chemicals, will assume the CEO tasks and also head up the executive committee. Since the group’s internal regulations mandate a maximum age of 70 for operative positions, Desmarest will step down from his current position at the end of next year. Once that happens, the two positions will once again be merged into one. However, whether that job will then go to Pouyanné remains to be seen.