ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 2, 2026--
North Highland, the leading change and transformation consultancy, today announced that Chris Kido has joined the Firm as global head of Life Sciences. Kido brings more than 25 years of experience leading business and technology strategy and transformation initiatives across pharma, biotech, and medical devices.
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In the role, Kido will lead North Highland's global Life Sciences industry. He will work with pharmaceutical, biotech, and medtech clients through major industry changes, using business transformation, AI, and digital technology to drive real growth, improve operations, and ultimately, meaningful patient impact.
"Life Sciences clients need partners who have already solved the problems they're facing: squeezed R&D budgets, supply chain complexity, and pressure to move faster on digital and AI,” said Lia Keel, senior managing director and North America commercial business leader. “Chris brings deep experience doing exactly that, at some of the biggest names in consulting, and he's the leader we need to grow this industry."
Kido joins North Highland with extensive leadership experience from his previous roles as managing director, Life Sciences at Accenture and partner, Life Sciences Digital & Innovation at PwC. Throughout his career, he has partnered with pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device organizations to develop and execute business and digital strategies across Commercial, R&D, and Operations. He holds a bachelor's degree from Connecticut College.
"Life Sciences companies are under pressure to do more with less," Kido shared. "They're being asked to speed up development, make better use of data and AI, and improve performance across the business at the same time. North Highland has a strong track record of helping clients make those changes in ways that stick. I'm excited to build on that and help grow an industry that brings practical, hands-on support to our clients' toughest challenges."
About North Highland
Founded in 1992, North Highland helps businesses move from strategy to reality, taking a pragmatic and practical approach to build solutions that work and create impact that lasts. As the world’s leading change and transformation consultancy, our award-winning services, powered at the intersection of talent and technology, turn client visions into real, measurable value.
With industry-leading client satisfaction ratings, North Highland’s methods and expertise are regularly recognized by the world’s leading analyst firms. Offering global support and capabilities, North Highland has offices across U.S., UK, Middle East, Romania, Ecuador, and Canada.
For more information, visit www.northhighland.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook.
North Highland names Chris Kido global head of Life Sciences. Kido brings more than 25 years leading business and technology strategy and transformation for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil giant Chevron confirmed that it will expand its operations in Venezuela, just days after President Donald Trump announced an ambitious deal to develop the nation’s oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits.
Chevron, the only U.S. oil company that has a major presence in the country, said Wednesday that it has been assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, where the company has an established position. Joint venture plans include investing more than $7 billion over the next five years, more than doubling production to approximately 600,000 barrels a day compared to 2026.
“Chevron’s history in Venezuela spans more than a century, and our expanded position reflects our confidence in the country’s deep resource potential and its ability to compete for investment within our portfolio for decades,” CEO Mike Wirth said in a prepared statement. “With improved terms and additional acreage, we are strengthening a portfolio that we believe can deliver attractive low-cost oil growth, support energy supply and create differentiated long-term value.”
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven reserves, which contain more than 303 billion barrels of crude oil, according to OPEC's 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin. Saudi Arabia is a distant second with 267 billion barrels.
The announcement comes a day after a U.S. official, who briefed reporters on the expected announcement, said that Chevron officials and Energy Secretary Chris Wright were expected to visit Venezuela on Wednesday where the new investment will be formally unveiled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House for the call.
Chevron is the second-largest U.S. oil company and the only one with a major presence in Venezuela. It has had a presence in the country since 1923. Its joint ventures Petroindependencia and Petropiar, S.A. operate extra-heavy oil projects in the Orinoco Oil Belt, while Petroboscan, S.A. is located in the Zulia State in Western Venezuela.
The White House confirmed on Monday that it is partnering with North American Blue Energy Partners as part of Trump ’s push to tap into Venezuela’s oil industry.
The sweeping agreement has been met with skepticism from analysts who say it will take years to revive Venezuela’s production, which is in disarray after years of neglect.
Energy experts also have questioned about whether Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez has the legal authority to give the company 100-year rights over 17 oil fields with reserves of 65 billion barrels — and whether future Venezuelan or American administrations would overturn the agreement.
Trump has had his eyes on Venezuela’s oil since the capture of Nicolás Maduro, and his aides call it a path away from reliance on oil from the Middle East. Trump has been pressing to get U.S. businesses to restore a presence in the country, and suggested Monday that other oil companies were readying for business in Venezuela. “We have Exxon going in, we have Chevron going in. We have our big oil companies going in,” he said. Trump in January said he was inclined to leave Exxon out of Venezuela after CEO Darren Woods called the country “uninvestable.”
A spokesman for Exxon said Tuesday, however, that “Nothing has changed” on the company’s position regarding Venezuela.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asked about Chevron’s announcement during an interview on Wednesday, said, “No American firm knows how to operate in Venezuela better than Chevron.”
Bessent told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” that Trump is “creating assets for the American people” with the deal and that the arrangement “is going to push down oil prices, push up production” to benefit U.S. consumers and the Venezuelan economy.
Trump has said that the agreement with Venezuela would “substantially lower” gasoline prices in the U.S. However, experts have repeatedly warned that Venezuela’s dilapidated oil infrastructure will require years of restoration work and tens of billions of dollars to resuscitate.
Meanwhile, gasoline prices jumped higher again overnight, reaching $4.12 on average for a regular gallon of gasoline, according to the motor club AAA.
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Collin Binkley contributed to this report.
A woman covering a child from the rain walks along the shore of Lake Maracaibo in the oil-producing region of Cabimas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
A fisherman steers his boat on Lake Maracaibo in the oil-producing region of Cabimas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
A woman walks near of a oil storage tank of Venezuela's state-run oil company, PDVSA in Cabimas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Sep. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
