Houston-based Oxy officially announces CEO transition, names successor

Team Transition

Vicki Hollub will retire, and Richard Jackson will assume her role. Courtesy photos

Houston-based Occidental (Oxy) has officially announced its longtime CEO's retirement and her successor.

Oxy shared that Vicki Hollub will retire June 1. Reuters first reported Hollub's plan to retire in March, but a firm date had not been set. Hollub will remain on Oxy's board of directors.

Richard Jackson, who currently serves as Oxy's COO, will replace Hollub in the CEO role.

“It has been a privilege to lead Occidental and work alongside such a talented team for more than 40 years," Hollub shared in a news release. "Following the recently completed decade-long transformation of the company, we now have the best portfolio and the best technical expertise in Occidental’s history. With this strong foundation in place, a clear path forward and a leader like Richard, who has the experience and vision to elevate Occidental, now is the right time for this transition. “I look forward to supporting Richard and the Board through my continued role as a director.”

Hollub has held the top leadership position at Oxy since 2016 and has been with the energy giant for more than 40 years. Before being named CEO, she served as COO and senior executive vice president at the company. She led strategic acquisitions of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019 and CrownRock in 2024, and was the first woman selected to lead a major U.S. oil and gas company.

Hollub also played a key role in leading Oxy's future as a "carbon management company."

Jackson has been with Oxy since 2003. He has held numerous leadership positions, including president of U.S. onshore oil and gas, president of low carbon integrated technologies, general manager of the Permian Delaware Basin and enhanced oil recovery oil and gas, vice president of investor relations, and vice president of drilling Americas.

He was instrumental in launching Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, which focuses DAC, carbon sequestration and low-carbon fuels through businesses like 1PointFive, TerraLithium and others, according to the company. He also serves on the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s Climate Investment Board and the American Petroleum Institute’s Upstream Committee. He holds a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University.

Jackson was named COO of Oxy in October 2025. In his new role as CEO, he will also join the board of directors, effective June 1.

“I am grateful to be appointed President and CEO of Occidental and excited about the opportunity to execute from the strong position and capabilities that we built under Vicki’s leadership,” Jackson added in the release. “It means a lot to me personally to be a part of our Occidental team. I am committed to delivering value from our significant and high-quality resource base. We have a tremendous opportunity to focus on organic improvement and execution to deliver meaningful value for our employees, shareholders and partners.”

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This article first appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

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The Oxy Innovation Center has opened at the Ion and Industrious' coworking space launches soon. Photo courtesy of The Ion

New energy innovation and coworking spaces open at the Ion

moving in

Houston-based Occidental officially opened its new Oxy Innovation Center with a ribbon cutting at the Ion last week.

The opening reflects Oxy and the Ion's "shared commitment to advancing technology and accelerating a lower-carbon future," according to an announcement from the Ion.

Oxy, which was named a corporate partner of the Ion in 2023, now has nearly 6,500 square feet on the fourth floor of the Ion. Rice University and the Rice Real Estate Company announced the lease of the additional space last year, along with agreements with Fathom Fund and Activate.

At the time, the leases brought the Ion's occupancy up to 90 percent.

Additionally, New York-based Industrious plans to launch its coworking space at the Ion on May 8. The company was tapped as the new operator of the Ion’s 86,000-square-foot coworking space in Midtown in January.

Dallas-based Common Desk previously operated the space, which was expanded by 50 percent in 2023 to 86,000 square feet.

CBRE agreed to acquire Industrious in a deal valued at $400 million earlier this year. Industrious also operates another local coworking space is at 1301 McKinney St.

Industrious will host a launch party celebrating the new location Thursday, May 8. Find more information here.


Oxy Innovation Center. Photo via LinkedIn.

A New York-based nonprofit that provides tech training has announced its opening a location in the Ion. Photo courtesy of the Ion

Ion Houston expands tech workforce development partnership with nonprofit

tech training

Houstonians can now apply to a new, tuition-free program at the Ion to boost their tech skills and knowledge.

Earlier this year the Ion announced New York-based Per Scholas as its workforce development partner. And starting October, Per Scholas will launch its 12- to 15- week technology skills training courses at the innovation hub, the Ion announced this week.

The new operation, known as Per Scholas Houston, is backed by support from from BlackRock Inc. and Comcast NBCUniversal.

Per Scholas Houston will first introduce the nonprofit's IT Support course. The program will give students an opportunity to earn a Google IT Support Professional Certificate and the CompTIA A+ certification. Click here to apply.

“Per Scholas commends the vision and commitment of the City of Houston, Ion, Rice University, and so many others, to catalyze change, grow ideas and innovation, and drive impact. We are thrilled that Per Scholas Houston is now part of the effort,” Plinio Ayala, president and CEO of Per Scholas, says in a statement. “With tremendous investment from Ion, BlackRock, Comcast, our proven skills training will develop technologists to power Houston’s workforce today – and tomorrow–creating a more inclusive and equitable economy. We can’t wait to get started.”

According to the company, more than 80 percent of those who complete Per Scholas training programs find full-time employment within a year of graduating, and about 85 percent of Per Scholas graduates are people of color. Per Scholas has 20 locations in the U.S., including a location in downtown Dallas.

Applicants must be 18 or older to apply and have earned a high school diploma or equivalent and be a U.S. citizen or authorized to work in the U.S., according to Per Scholas's website. They must pass an assessments review before beginning coursework, meet the nonprofit's learner pre-training income criteria and be available to attend classes Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In early May, The Ion announced 10 new tenants that were either relocating or expanding their presence in Houston, bringing the total space leased to 86 percent. Later that month, it added corporate giants Occidental, United Airlines Ventures and Woodside Energy as partners.
Cemvita Factory is working on a pilot plant with Oxy to scale its biotechnology. Photo via OxyLowCarbon.com

Oxy taps Houston startup's carbon negative biotechnology for new pilot plant

sustainability moves

Occidental's venture arm — Oxy Low Carbon Ventures — has announced its plans to construct and operate a one metric ton per month bio-ethylene pilot plant featuring Houston-based Cemvita Factory's technology that biomimics photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide into feedstocks.

The new plant will scale the process, which was jointly developed between Cemvita and OLCV, and is expected sometime next year, according to a press release from Oxy.

"Today bio-ethylene is made from bio-ethanol, which is made from sugarcane, which in turn was created by photosynthesizing CO2. Our bio-synthetic process simply requires CO2, water and light to produce bio-ethylene, and that's why it saves a lot of cost and carbon emissions," says Moji Karimi, co-founder and CEO of Cemvita Factory, in the release. "This project is a great example of how Cemvita is applying industrial-strength synthetic biology to help our clients lower their carbon footprint while creating new revenue streams."

Oxy and Cemvita have been working together for a while, and in 2019, OLCV invested an undisclosed amount into the startup. The investment, according to the release, was made to jointly explore how these advances in synthetic biology can be used for sustainability efforts in the bio-manufacturing of OxyChem's products.

"This technology could provide an opportunity to offer a new, non-hydrocarbon-sourced ethylene product to the market, reducing carbon emissions, and in the future benefit our affiliate, OxyChem, which is a large producer and consumer of ethylene in its chlorovinyls business," says Robert Zeller, vice president of technology at OLCV, in a news release.

Moji Karimi founded the company with his sister and Cemvita CTO, Tara, in 2017. The idea was to biomimic photosynthesis to take CO2 and turn it into something else. The first iteration of the technology turned CO2 into sugar — the classic photosynthesis process. Karimi says the idea was to create this process for space, so that astronauts can turn the CO2 they breathe out into a calorie source.

"Nature provided the inspiration," noted Dr. Tara Karimi, co-founder and CTO of Cemvita Factory. "We took a gene from a banana and genetically engineered it into our CO2-utilizing host microorganism. We are now significantly increasing its productivity with the goal to achieve commercial metrics that we have defined alongside OLCV."

A couple weeks ago, Moji Karimi joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to discuss growth and challenges Cemvita Factory faced.

"We're defining this new category for application of synthetic biology in heavy industries for decarbonization," he shares on the show. Stream the episode below.

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$5B Austin medical center, anchored by MD Anderson, to break ground this fall

moving forward

Construction on the $1 billion first phase of the AI-native University of Texas Dell Medical Center in Austin—which will feature a hospital operated by Houston’s UT MD Anderson Cancer Center—is set to start this fall.

The UT System Board of Regents approved funding for first-phase construction on Aug. 12.

The medical center—now expected to cost $5 billion, up from the initial $2.9 billion estimate—will span about 2.5 million square feet. It will include 300 to 500 patient beds, outpatient facilities, an emergency department and specialized care for cancer patients.

MD Anderson will bring its world-renowned oncology programs to the center’s integrated health care model, Dr. Claudia Lucchinetti, senior vice president of medical affairs at UT Austin and dean of the university’s Dell Medical School, tells Health Leaders.

Earlier this year, Austin tech billionaire Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, pledged $750 million for development of the medical center. The medical center, scheduled for completion in December 2030, will be a cornerstone of the new 300-acre UT Dell Campus for Advanced Research, a medical education and research hub.

“Through this new campus and medical center, Texas will lead America in health care innovation,” Gov. Greg Abbott said when the research campus was announced in April. “The next generation of medical breakthroughs will take place in Central Texas.”

The medical center will fold AI tools and other technology into the infrastructure, rather than having them added after it’s built. Among other capabilities, the technology will monitor real-time medical data, automate data entry, and help health care professionals quickly predict and identify risks to patients, according to Health Leaders.

“We are not just building a new medical center,” Lucchinetti says. “We are building a fundamentally new model of health. It’s not just a new facility. It’s not just a new collaboration. It is a convergence of capabilities that rarely come together at the same time.”

Houston hospital ranks among 20 best in U.S. & more top innovation news

Trending News

Editor's note: August is off to a strong start with these five big innovation headlines to know. From the annual U.S. News ranking of best hospitals to a big Series A raise, here are the most-read Houston innovation stories published July 31-August 14, 2026:

1. U.S. News declares Houston hospital No. 1 in Texas for the 15th year

Houston Methodist Hospital and over a dozen more Houston-area hospitals have earned bragging rights in U.S. Houston Methodist was also the only Texas institution named on U.S. News' Best Hospitals Honor Roll, a prestigious list of the 20 best medical centers in the country. Houston Methodist also reigns as Texas' best hospital for the 15th consecutive year. Continue reading.

2. Houston startup lands $10M to power up electrician staffing platform

Houston-based Buildforce, which provides a tech-enabled staff platform geared toward electricians and electrical contractors, has raised a $10 million Series A round led by Houston’s Saepio Capital. Other investors in the round include Blue Heron Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, S3 Ventures and Chicago Ventures. Buildforce says the funding will help fuel its national expansion and further development of its technology. Continue reading.

3. UTHealth Houston joins NASA initiative to protect border drinking water

Climate change means far more to public health than living with hotter days. Transformations in our weather are contributing to challenges in accessing safe drinking water in some communities. One of the most dire situations is along the US–Mexico border. NASA is seeking to address that issue with its Water Quality Applications program. An 11-researcher project led by a UTHealth Houston School of Public Health faculty member has been selected to participate. Continue reading.

4. KBR unveils name, branding for new government services spinoff

Houston-based KBR Inc.'s new Mission Technology Solutions unit officially has a name. The previously announced government services spinoff, which until now has been nicknamed SpinCo, will now be known as Trinzic. The company said in a news release that the name was inspired by the word intrinsic, "reflecting essential, built-in capabilities and deep expertise operating in some of the world’s most complex and mission-critical environments." Continue reading.

5. Who are Houston's top innovators? Nominate now for 2026 Houston Innovation Awards

Calling all Houston innovators: The 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, presented by InnovationMap, return this fall to celebrate the best and brightest in the Houston innovation ecosystem right now. We're asking you to nominate Houston's top innovators and startups for this year's awards. Nominations are open through August 27 and can be made on behalf of yourself, your organization, and other influential leaders in the local innovation scene. Continue reading.

Rice lands $15M U.S. Army award to launch next-gen wireless research center

defense funding

The U.S. Army Research Office has awarded Rice University $15 million to establish a new center for next-generation sensing and communications.

The five-year research center—dubbed the Center for Large Aperture Secure Sensing, Imaging and Communications (CLASSIC)—will unite researchers from universities and national laboratories to develop advanced antenna technologies for future wireless systems. Edward Knightly, the Sheafor-Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice, will lead the center that “combines expertise in wireless networking, antennas, radar, artificial intelligence, circuits and physics to address growing demands on wireless systems,” according to Rice.

“The challenges we’re tackling require advances that span physics, hardware, communications and computing," Knightly said in a news release. “By combining those strengths in a single center, we can accelerate the development and demonstration of technologies that would not be possible through individual efforts alone.”

Joining Knightly will be Ashutosh Sabharwal of Rice, Sensen Li of the University of Texas at Austin, Hou-Tong Chen of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Danijela Cabric of UCLA, Josep M. Jornet and Tommaso Melodia of Northeastern University, Daniel M. Mittleman of Brown University, and Willie Padilla of Duke University.

Industry partners include Booz Allen Hamilton, Intel, Keysight, Lockheed Martin, MITRE, Northrop Grumman, Qualcomm and Raytheon.

CLASSIC researchers will investigate how large-scale antenna arrays (ELSAAs) can expand the capabilities of wireless systems where technology is limited.

ELSAAs use thousands of coordinated antenna elements to direct radio waves. Researchers aim to develop ways to use the technology to help maintain steady communication when signals are blocked or disrupted and to detect and generate detailed images of concealed objects.

Along with ELSAAs, the center will work to develop sensing techniques for threat detection, study wireless jamming and build resilient high-speed wireless networks. Researchers will ultimately validate the technology in labs and via drone-based field trials.

CLASSIC will also work on developing an AI-driven modeling framework that will simulate complex electromagnetic environments in real time.

“This award demonstrates Rice’s leadership in tackling complex national research challenges through collaboration across disciplines and institutions,” David Sholl, executive vice president for research at Rice, added in the release.

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