Petrol giant Caltex has announced the retirement of its chief financial officer Simon Hepworth, who has held the position since 2001.

During this time Hepworth was responsible for leading the financial discipline, which has been fundamental to the transformation of the business and its focus on creating value for shareholders, the company said in a statement to investors.

Hepworth will remain in the role until mid-2019 to ensure an appropriate handover with his successor, which the business is now in the process of recruiting.

“Simon has dedicated his career to the growth of the Caltex business,” Caltex Australia chief executive Julian Segal said.

“He has been responsible to our success in delivering value for shareholders, maintaining Caltex’s strong financial discipline, and has always been a key contributor to the development and execution of our strategy.”

Caltex chairman Steven Gregg, on behalf of the Caltex board, thanked Hepworth for his long service and contribution to the business’s transformation.

The petrol giant recently paid $5.7 million to its workers for underpayments as a result of a series of compliance breaches and exploitation being identified in its franchise network.

Upon investigation, the company confirmed it had so far found 250 of its franchise employees were being underpaid, with underpayments averaging at $20,000 and the highest reported at $92,000.

The investigation found systematic non-compliance, including falsified wage records and poor record-keeping, which Segal told the parliamentary inquiry took him “totally and utterly by surprise”.

Access exclusive analysis, locked news and reports with Inside Retail Weekly. Subscribe today and get our premium print publication delivered to your door every week.