Oil industry body UKPIA (UK Petroleum Industry Association) has announced that director general Chris Hunt will be retiring in November after 20 years in the post, and that it has recruited a successor.

Paul Bray, UKPIA president and Valero’s director, European government and public affairs, said: “I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen Marcos Jones as the next director general of UKPIA.

“Stephen, who comes to us with an excellent academic record, many years of trade association advocacy experience and extensive knowledge of the sector, will take up his role when Chris Hunt, the existing DG, retires in November.

“We take this opportunity to thank Chris for the 20 excellent years of service he has given UKPIA and his achievement in developing the association into the effective and proficient body it is today. UKPIA’s council is excited to be working with Stephen on the many challenges that face the downstream oil industry over the coming years.”

Stephen Marcos Jones is currently director of business excellence at Oil & Gas UK, where he has worked since 2011. Prior to this, he worked at the Department for Education and also the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation in Barcelona.

He has Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Oxford University and an MBA from the Imperial College Business School. He is a native Spanish and English speaker and is fluent in French and German.

UKPIA represents eight oil refining and marketing companies that operate the six major oil refineries in the UK and source over 86% of the transport fuels used. UKPIA members also own around 1,250 of the 8,476 filling stations in the UK.