Dr. Ray R. Irani is the Chairman and CEO of Ray Investments, LLC, a privately held investment company.
Prior to the formation of Ray Investments, LLC, Dr. Irani served as Executive Chairman of Occidental Petroleum Corporation from May 2011 to May 2013 after serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1990 to 2011. He had been a director of the company since 1984 and served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Occidental from 1984 to 1990. He served as Chairman of the Board of Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd. (now Nexen Inc.) from 1987 to 1999. Prior to working for Occidental, Dr. Irani was President and Chief Operating Officer of Olin Corporation.
Dr. Irani serves on the Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts and is a member of The Conference Board and The Council on Foreign Relations. Dr. Irani is a Life Trustee of the University of Southern California and a Trustee Emeritus of the American University of Beirut. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and serves on the Advisory Board of RAND’s Center for Middle East Public Policy.
In 2011, he was awarded the designation Chevalier of the French National Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest award bestowed by the French government on citizens and foreigners, and in 2012 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Engineering.
Dr. Irani was born in Beirut, Lebanon and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the American University of Beirut and a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Southern California. He holds 50 U.S. patents and more than 100 foreign patents, is the author of the book Particle Size, and has published more than 50 technical papers.
