Speech of Honorable Devin Nunes - Honoring Simon Lowes

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Simon Lowes, of California's 11th District, upon the occasion of his retirement from Chevron.

After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham in England, Simon began his 48-year career at Chevron in 1967 working as a process engineer at the Richmond Chevron Refinery. After subsequently earning a Master's Degree in Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, Simon continued to build an impressive resume, holding over 15 challenging positions over the next four decades in Indonesia, Nigeria, the Ivory Coast, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Among Simon's most noted accomplishments was his leadership in developing Chevron's Angola Partnership Initiative. Following a 27-year civil war that ravaged Angola's economy, Simon helped to design a social investment initiative to rebuild local capacity and stimulate economic recovery. Due in large part to his efforts, in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development, Chevron's unprecedented $25 million commitment to this effort helped over 2 million people re-establish food security.

Simon was also instrumental in launching the Chevron Aceh Recovery Initiative, which assisted victims of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia. Through a series of micro-finance programs and the establishment of a polytechnic institute, this program provided job training and livelihoods to thousands of distressed Indonesians.

In recent years, Simon has drawn on his extensive overseas experience to help lead Chevron's Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. As a result of this project and his many other endeavors, Simon's colleagues within Chevron and the development community have come to know him as a passionate innovator, a trusted and loyal mentor and, above all, an eternal optimist.

Simon leaves Chevron with the respect, admiration and gratitude of those who have had the pleasure of working with him, and the knowledge that he has positively impacted not only Chevron, but thousands of people around the world.
I would also like to recognize Simon's devoted wife, Shirley, and their three accomplished children, Aubrey, Chris and Ashley. Together, they built a family-focused life filled with new adventures, embracing each opportunity with curiosity and enthusiasm.

We extend our appreciation for a job well done, and wish Simon a well-deserved retirement.

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