Dear CITGO community,
I am writing to let you know that Luisa Palacios has accepted a full-time position at an academic institution, which will require her to leave the CITGO board by the end of March.
I speak for myself and the CITGO leadership in saying she will be deeply missed. She was elected Chairwoman of the CITGO Petroleum Board in February 2019, the first woman to hold the position in the history of the company. She, along with the other Directors, worked tirelessly to achieve three critical goals for the Company: invigorate corporate governance and management, strengthen the balance sheet and financial position, and help navigate through a series of legal challenges.
In addition to the CITGO Board responsibilities, Luisa was instrumental in helping the Simon Bolivar Foundation realign its mission to focus on meeting the immediate and long-term health care needs of the most vulnerable in and from Venezuela, especially those affected by the complex humanitarian crisis.
Luisa has provided vital service to our company and has made enormous contributions during a pivotal time in the history of CITGO. The company is stronger and well positioned for the future because of her efforts.
As Luisa notes in the attached letter, when she, the board and I began this journey together we were committed to ensuring CITGO “stood for excellence and integrity in all facets of the business.” Thanks in no small part to Luisa’s vision, hard work and principled leadership, CITGO has made immense progress toward realizing that commitment.
Please join me in sincerely thanking Luisa for her extraordinary leadership and wishing her every success in this next chapter of her career.
Carlos E. Jordá
President and Chief Executive Officer, CITGO