Our management team

Brad W. Corson

Chairman, president and CEO

Brad W. Corson was appointed chairman, president and chief executive officer of Imperial on January 1, 2020.

Mr. Corson started his career with ExxonMobil in 1983 in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has held various technical, operations, commercial and managerial assignments around the world. In addition to multiple assignments across the United States, he has also held key leadership positions in Hong Kong and London.

In 2009, Mr. Corson was appointed vice president, ExxonMobil Production Company, with responsibilities for oil and gas production activities in Europe and the Caspian regions. Six years later, he was appointed president, ExxonMobil Upstream Ventures and vice president of ExxonMobil Corporation where he was responsible for overseeing ExxonMobil’s global upstream acquisition and divestment programs. Under his leadership, ExxonMobil made key strategic acquisitions in the Permian Basin, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique and Brazil.

A native of Woodstock, Illinois, Mr. Corson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in chemical engineering from Auburn University. Mr. Corson currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the C.D. Howe Institute; as well as serving on the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America – Sam Houston Area Council, and as a Governing Director for the Houston Symphony.

Mr. Corson and his wife, Joan, have two sons.

Cheryl Gomez-Smith

Senior vice-president, upstream

Cheryl Gomez-Smith was appointed senior vice-president, upstream effective May 1, 2024.

Ms. Gomez-Smith joined Exxon Mobil Corporation in 1990 as a Facilities Engineer in the Permian.  Since then, she has held facilities, reservoir, and project engineering roles specializing in production operations for many of ExxonMobil’s upstream assets in the United States, as well as operations leadership roles for several offshore deep-water developments in the Gulf of Mexico, for joint venture LNG processing projects in Qatar, and for upstream operations in Russia. She served as President of ExxonMobil Kazakhstan, and prior to her current position Ms. Gomez-Smith most recently served as the Director of Safety and Risk, ExxonMobil Global Operations and Sustainability. 

Ms. Gomez-Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and an MBA from Tulane University. 

Daniel Lyons

Senior vice-president – finance and administration

D.E. (Dan) Lyons was appointed senior vice-president, finance & administration in May, 2018.

Mr. Lyons joined Exxon Mobil Corporation in 1990 after serving with the U.S. Army.  He started his career at corporate headquarters in Dallas and progressed through a variety of positions in the upstream, downstream and chemical businesses.

In 1995, he relocated to Bangkok, Thailand and held a series of finance and planning managerial roles, followed by assignments in Houston, Saudi Arabia and London.  In 2005, he returned to Thailand as managing director of Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Lyons most recently served as vice-president of downstream business services located in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Lyons holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Vassar College and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Sherri Evers

Senior vice-president, sustainability, commercial development and product solutions 

Sherri Evers was appointed senior vice-president, sustainability, commercial development and product solutions, effective May 1, 2023.

Ms. Evers has worked for Imperial for over 24 years in a range of positions within the downstream, beginning in 1998 in the Edmonton marketing office. Within the downstream, Ms. Evers held various assignments, including sales, logistics, pricing and analysis within refining and supply. Ms. Evers worked as the marine manager in 2006 and moved into the role of Canada pricing and logistics manager a few years later. In 2012, Ms. Evers began a series of global assignments with Exxon Mobil Corporation in Fairfax, VA and in Houston, TX as manager of business planning center of excellence, the integrated business team lead for the Midwest northeast U.S. fuels business, and then as the Americas exchange and analysis manager for the third party business.

In 2018, Ms. Evers returned to Canada as the Eastern Canada Fuels Manager for the Downstream and was appointed vice president, commercial and corporate development in 2021.

Ms. Evers is Canadian and holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan in Marketing and General Business.

Ian Laing

Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary

Mr. Laing was appointed Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary effective July 1, 2020.

Mr. Laing graduated from the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 1999.  After articling with the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench and Court of Appeal, Mr. Laing worked in private practice before joining Imperial in 2005. During his time with the company, he has held a variety of roles within the Law department providing legal advice to various business lines across the upstream, downstream, and corporate departments.  He was appointed Assistant General Counsel in 2014 and Corporate Secretary in 2019.

A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Mr. Laing holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Master of Laws degree from Dalhousie University.

Jim Burgess

Jim Burgess was appointed treasurer of Imperial Oil Limited, effective July 1, 2024.

Mr. Burgess joined Imperial in 1997 as a financial analyst at Imperial’s Toronto head office, where he progressed through a number of accounting and financial roles, before moving to Calgary in 2005 at the time of Imperial’s head office relocation. His time in Calgary included an assignment as financial advisor in Imperial’s Treasurer’s organization.

In 2009, Mr. Burgess began a series of international assignments with Exxon Mobil Corporation starting in Houston, Texas. During his time in Houston he held several roles, including corporate reporting manager for the upstream business. He then moved to the corporate headquarters in Dallas as a senior financial advisor. In 2014, Mr. Burgess relocated to Bangkok, Thailand as lead controller and financial accounting process manager for ExxonMobil’s Global Business Center.

In 2016, Mr. Burgess returned to Canada as Imperial’s Assistant Controller, a position he held until 2019. Mr. Burgess then accepted another international assignment in Shanghai, China, as the North Asia Business Services Manager and Controller.

In 2023, Mr. Burgess returned to Canada once again, this time in a global process manager role overseeing ExxonMobil’s financial close, consolidation and external reporting activities. 

Born in St. Catharines, Ontario, and raised in Toronto, Mr. Burgess graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Commerce. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).