People to Watch in 2000
Who will make big news in the business world this year? Who will emerge from relative obscurity to become a major player? To start the new year, Times business reporters selected people from their beats who they believe will be among those to watch in 2000--in Southern California, across the country and around the world. Some are well known, having made big news in previous years. Others are not exactly household names but nevertheless are likely to make a major impact in their fields.
Of course, there’s no way to predict just what’s going to happen in the next 12 months. Nor can any such list be complete--there’s always the come-from-nowhere phenom who’ll surprise everyone. But it’s a good bet that if you follow the fortunes of these 22, you’ll see the top business stories of 2000 unfold.
Peter Bijur of Texaco and Dave O’Reilly of Chevron
Oilmen Peter Bijur of Texaco Inc. and Dave O’Reilly of Chevron Corp. head the largest of the petroleum giants to sit out the most sweeping consolidation in the international oil industry.
Taking a cue from British Petroleum, Amoco and Atlantic Richfield, Exxon and Mobil, Chevron and Texaco spent several weeks in serious merger negotiations in mid-1999. But the talks fell apart, reportedly not just over price but also because Ken Derr, the just-retired Chevron chairman and chief executive, would not agree to give the top job to 57-year-old Bijur over Derr’s handpicked successor, O’Reilly, 52.
With O’Reilly now in charge at San Francisco-based Chevron, and White Plains, N.Y.-based Texaco still unattached, the oil industry is paying close attention to these two executives. Will they resume their courtship or search for other marriage partners to keep up with the new trio of “supermajor” oil companies: Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch/Shell Group and BP Amoco Corp.?
O’Reilly has said that Chevron, No. 5 among publicly traded U.S. oil companies, can remain a top performer without a partner. Bijur in early December declined to say whether Texaco, No. 4 by revenue, is in merger talks now but added that he expects industry combinations to continue if they make economic sense.
