The supervisory board of Orlen (Plock, Poland; www.orlen.pl/en) said it has appointed Ireneusz Fąfara to head the mineral oil group. Interim CEO Witold Literacki was named his deputy. 

Orlen is not unfamiliar territory for Fąfara – from 2010 to 2018, he was the CEO of Orlen Lietuva and brought the refinery in Mažeikiai, Lithuania, back to profitable levels. Since his departure from the company, he has held several supervisory board positions, including at investment firm Rockbridge and Polish pharmaceutical company 4Cell Therapies. 

Appointing a new CEO was in the offing for Orlen after former president and CEO Daniel Obajtek was abruptly relieved of his duties at the beginning of February 2024. Though there was no statement from the group at the time, the dismissal came on the heels of an investigation by Polish prosecutors into the takeover of compatriot refinery operator Lotos (Gdansk; www.lotos.pl/en). This is said to have involved “abuse of power and breaches of duty”.

Industry experts seem to consider the switch in Orlen CEOs and the corresponding change in management at petrochemical and polymer group Grupa Azoty (Tarnow, Poland; www.grupaazoty.com/en/) as a sign of the political power struggle between the national-conservative PiS party, which was voted out of office in October 2023, and the liberal-conservative Civic Coalition (KO) of the current head of government Donald Tusk.