R. Gwin Follis; Retired Chairman of Chevron

R. Gwin Follis, a retired chairman and chief executive officer of Chevron Corp. who led its growth into the nation’s ninth-largest corporation, has died of cancer. He was 93.

Follis died Monday at his home in San Francisco, according to a statement released by Chevron on Wednesday.

Follis led the corporation for 16 years--from 1950 until his retirement in 1966--a period in which earnings tripled and sales reached a then-unprecedented $3 billion a year.

He also oversaw Chevron’s expansion from a western U.S.-based concern to a worldwide presence in the oil industry. A graduate of Princeton, Follis joined Standard Oil Co. of California in 1924 at its Richmond refinery. He was elected president and director in 1945 before becoming chairman of the board five years later.

During his tenure, Standard Oil of California acquired Standard Oil Co. of Kentucky, extending the Standard-Chevron reach across the country.

Follis also played key roles in the company’s U.S. and international operations, through which he came to know Saudi Arabian kings and sheiks, the shah of Iran and other world figures.

In 1946, he founded and chaired the National Petroleum Council, an advisory group that counseled the federal government on oil industry matters. He was director of the American Petroleum Institute and chaired the National Industrial Conference Board.

Follis is survived by his wife, Ann; a son, James Gwin Follis of Philo; a daughter, Mary Van Voorhees of Greenbrae, and three grandchildren.