Total appoints new chairman and CEO: Following the death of its chairman and CEO Christophe de Margerie in an accident at Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport on Monday night, Total has appointed two insiders to take his place. The head of the company’s refining and chemicals business Patrick Pouyanné becomes chief executive, while de Margerie’s predecessor Thierry Desmarest becomes chairman, a role which he will pass over to Pouyanné at the end of next year. Under Pouyanne’s leadership, Total’s downstream division has delivered over $400m in cost improvements and has been a key source of earnings growth in the past two years. AKIPress , The Telegraph