Philippe Sauquet has been appointed as the new president of refining and chemicals with Total, following Patrick Poyanne’s promotion to chief executive officer.
His appointment follows the death of Total boss Christophe de Margerie earlier this month in Russia.
Mr Sauquet, who will also become a member of the executive committee, had been president of gas and power since 2012.
He is a graduate of France’s Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees engineering schools.
His career began in 1981 as a civil engineer at the French Ministry of Infrastructure.