Gaurdie E. Banister Jr. has been elected to Marathon Oil Corp.’s (NYSE: MRO) board of directors, effective Oct. 1, the company said in a news release.

Banister recently retired after serving eight years as president and CEO of Aera Energy LLC, an oil and gas E&P company jointly owned by Shell Oil Co. and ExxonMobil. Banister has 35 years of oil and gas experience, and prior to Aera served in executive level positions at Shell including technical vice president Upstream Asia Pacific and technical vice president Upstream Americas, the release said.

In addition, Banister was named to the board of Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) in 2011 and currently serves as the lead independent director. He also serves as trustee of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology foundation, the release said.

Banister holds a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.