As many of you know from reading my hottakes, I love me some Vicki Hollub. Forget her bidding for (and winning) Anadarko; or selling assets to Total before the deal closed; or even raising money from Buffet. She gave a town hall to Anadarko employees to explain the vision and the future that got 5 stars across the board on Yelp. We need more CEOs like her.

The $APC merger will be her legacy; whether it succeeds or fails. And so will go her time with Oxy. I said this out loud recently, and the response was, “She is the only woman leading an oil and gas company. Getting rid of her would be a horrible decision.” But wait.. wasn’t this deal HER decision?

She is a stud AND this is HER deal. If it works – she is gonna “Jack Welch” this shit right into a book deal and speaking engagements everywhere. If it fails… she will get her ass kicked. She knows it, and she owns it. I love it. The deal closes August 8th and then she gets to starting proving people – right or wrong.

Either way – let’s embrace that the CEO – regardless of gender, makes the ultimate call – and if they make a bad decision – they should get the axe. Man, woman, black, white, gay, straight… May competence drive employment.