TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive officer of French oil company Total, was killed in a plane accident on Tuesday, October 21, 2014.

“We’ve lost a visionary leader in the oil and gas industry and a great leader at Total,” Total E&P Indonesie president director Hardy Pramono said in a press release on Tuesday, October 21, 2014.

Christophe de Margerie died at 10 p.m. on October 20, 2014 Paris time (at 03.00 a.m. on October 21, 2014, Indonesia time) when his private jet collided with a snowplow on a runway of Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia. Mr. de Margerie and his three crewmen were killed in the accident.

Mr. de Margerie was born on August 6, 1951 in Mareuil-sur-Lay-DIssais, Vende, France. He joined Total after graduating from Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Paris in 1974.

Mr. de Margerie had occupied a number of positions at finance division and exploration and production division. He was appointed as Total president director for Middle East in 1995 before joining the Group Executive Committee as the company’s president of exploration and production in May 1999.

Later, he was appointed as the senior executive vice president for exploration and production at TotalFinaELf, established in 2000. In January 2002, he became the president of exploration and production.

Mr. de Margerie served as member of board of directors at the general shareholder meeting on May 12, 2006, and became Total CEO on February 14, 2007. He served double roles as the chairman and CEO of the company on May 21, 2010.

AYU PRIMA SANDI