Calgary oil giant Suncor Energy announced Friday that its CEO, Mark Little, was stepping down, saying the measure was “effective immediately.”
The company said its board and Little mutually agreed that he would leave as chairman and CEO and resign from the board. Suncor’s executive vice president of downstream operations, Kris Smith, has been named interim CEO.
The development comes a day after Occupational Safety and Health announced it is investigating the death of a 26-year-old contractor who was hit by teams at the Suncor base mine near Fort McMurray, Alta.
Thursday’s death was the fifth fatality at work at a Suncor site in Alberta since 2021.
Suncor did not mention the incidents in its press release on Friday, but spoke of security as a company priority.
“Suncor is committed to achieving operational and security excellence in our business, and we need to recognize where we have fallen short and recognize the critical need for change,” board chairman Michael Wilson said in a statement.
“We commend Mark for his professionalism and the outstanding work he did to guide Suncor through the pandemic and lead our industry’s progressive approach to the energy transition.
“We thank you for your years of service to the company and wish you all the best.”
Little joined the company in 2008 and held various leadership positions in the company’s oil sands and in international and offshore operations before moving to the forefront of Suncor’s ranks.
He went on to become chief operating officer at the end of 2018 and took over as CEO a few months later.
Suncor said it has formed a CEO search committee to conduct a global search to select the company’s next top executive. He said he is hiring a global executive hiring company to help with this process.