Otto N. Miller, 79; Former Chevron Corp. Chairman

Otto N. Miller, retired chairman and chief executive of Chevron Corp., died Thursday in San Francisco after a brief illness. He was 79 and in 1946 had been the youngest man to be named a general manager of manufacturing at Standard Oil.

Miller, a San Francisco resident and chemical engineer with a doctorate degree, retired in 1974 after a 39-year career that included seven years as chairman of what was once the Standard Oil Co. of California.

“Otto Miller led our company during a time of great growth and prosperity,” said Chevron Chairman George Keller in a statement. “He made a tremendous contribution throughout his career. I’ll miss him greatly as a colleague and as a friend.”

A native of Harlan, Iowa, Miller joined Standard Oil in 1934, after earning his doctorate at the University of Michigan.

Gasoline Program

He spent his early years in research at the El Segundo refinery here before moving to San Francisco in 1940. Then he began working on the federal aviation gasoline program at the outset of World War II.

In 1943, he was assigned to New York, where he became a chief engineer of the Arabian American Oil Co., a Standard Oil affiliate. He played a key part in designing the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia.

At age 37, Miller became the youngest man to be named general manager of manufacturing at the company.

Eight years later, he became a vice president in manufacturing operations and in 1966 was elected company president.

In 1973, now Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky was one of the leaders of a movement to boycott Standard Oil that began after Miller sent a letter to the company’s then 300,000 stockholders and employees urging them to “support the aspirations of the Arab people.” Many interpreted it as a hostile act toward Israel, but Miller later said he meant only to ask that all sides be considered in an effort to bring peace to the Middle East.

Served on Boards

Miller was a former director of several organizations, including the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, Crocker National Bank and the California Chamber of Commerce.

He was also a former trustee of San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, a former member of the board of directors of the San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony and a former trustee of the California Academy of Sciences.