CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says its president and CEO Rich Kruger will step down from the top job next year but stay on at the company.

The oilsands giant said Thursday that Kruger will move to the role of executive vice-chair in April 2027, when Peter Zebedee will become chief executive.

It says that in preparation of taking on the role, Zebedee will become president and chief financial officer as of Sept. 14. He’s currently executive vice-president of upstream operations.

Suncor says CFO Troy Little has already left the company, without providing details as to why.

The executive shakeup comes a little over three years from when Kruger took on the CEO job in April of 2023.

At the time, the company was facing criticism for a poor safety record that included at least 12 workplace deaths in less than a decade.

The company says Kruger set a new standard for safety at the company, though a worker died at a Suncor site in January.

Kruger also pushed to make the company more efficient and drive down costs.

The company said in its second-quarter results released Tuesday that the price it breaks even on a barrel of oil is down by US$10 since 2023.

“With the transformation of Suncor successfully institutionalized, I look forward to continuing to work with the executive leadership team as I transition to my new role,” said Kruger in the news release Thursday.

Desjardins analyst Robert Mann said that while Kruger’s move from the CEO role came sooner than expected, he doesn’t see it having a big effect on the company.

“Both the timing of the succession plan and Mr. Kruger maintaining an active role with the company as executive vice-chair should help remove some uncertainty for investors,” he said in a note.

Mann said Zebedee’s work on the production side at Suncor, and his increased visibility in the investment community, positioned him as a natural successor.

Suncor says that before joining the company in 2022, Zebedee was CEO of LNG Canada, while he has also worked at Shell, Petro-Canada and Syncrude in his more than 30 years of working in the oil and gas industry.

Mann said the unexpected departure of Little as CFO, however, will leave investors asking for more details on what happened.

Other leadership changes at the company include Adam Albeldawi moving to fill Zebedee’s role as executive vice-president of upstream, and Shelley Powell becoming executive vice-president of development and projects.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2026.

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