Leadership turmoil at bp as chairman ousted less than a year into post

Tommy Lee Walker / Shutterstock.com

BP HAS removed chairman Albert Manifold after less than a year in post following “serious concerns” over his conduct. 

Announcing his removal, non-executive director Amanda Blanc said the board had been “surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable”. 

The board’s unanimous decision marks the second conduct-related departure of senior leadership from bp in under three years, following former CEO Bernard Looney’s resignation in 2023 after the company deemed his undisclosed relationships with colleagues amounted to “serious misconduct”. 

Manifold’s removal comes just under eight months after his appointment as chair amid a major leadership shakeup, largely driven by shareholder pressure to return bp’s focus to fossil fuels while cutting investment in renewables. The board’s decision also marks the first controversy under new CEO Meg O’Neill’s leadership, following her appointment less than two months ago. Manifold has been replaced with immediate effect by interim chair Ian Tyler, marking the fourth change of CEO or chair at bp since 2023. 

Tyler said bp’s strategic direction set out during the recent leadership shakeup remains unchanged, saying: “The board and leadership team have deep conviction in the strategic direction we have laid out, and the company is moving at pace to deliver it”. 

He added that the board has been “very impressed” with O’Neill, saying: “She has already taken bold action to simplify and strengthen the organisation”, highlighting her announcement of the company’s move to separate out its upstream and downstream businesses. bp is currently implementing a US$20bn divestment programme, recently announcing the sale of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany to reduce costs by US$1bn.