He was also vice chairman of Conoco's former parent DuPont from 1991 to 1996. Nicandros joined Conoco in 1957 as a research associate in planning, rising to vice president in 1972. He chaired the Conoco-DuPont merger committee in 1981 and two years later became a member of the DuPont board. Born in Port Said, Egypt of Greek parents in 1933, Nicandros graduated from Ecole Des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris.