BP chair Albert Manifold ousted by board citing grave 'conduct concerns'
by Paul Godfrey · UPIMay 26 (UPI) -- The board of British oil giant BP announced Tuesday the removal of chairman, Albert Manifold, just months after his appointment in October, citing "serious concerns" regarding "important governance standards, oversight and conduct."
The firm said Manifold's removal was effective immediately but provided no other information amid a leadership revolving door at the top of the FTSE 100 blue-chip since the departure of CEO Bernard Looney in September 2023 over his failure to come clean about sexual relationships with subordinates.
Manifold's interim replacement was named as BP board member Ian Tyler, a director of Anglo American and former CEO of U.K. construction giant Balfour Beatty.
CNBC said Manifold's ousting came on the heels of a shareholder revolt at BP's AGM in April, where he received a less-than-resounding endorsement in a vote electing him as the replacement for Helge Lund, who announced his intention to quit the board this year back in April 2025.
Manifold's removal came four weeks after BP posted a 140% jump in first quarter profit to $3.2 billion, up from $1.38 billion in the January to March period last year and way above market expectations of $2.63 billion.
He was hired to push through a strategic change of direction, refocusing on oil and gas and away from renewable energy investments and set about making immediate changes to his executive team, replacing Looney's replacement, CEO Murray Auchincloss, with Exxon Mobil veteran Meg O'Neill.
"Albert has helped bring a welcome focus and pace to BP's transformation. However, the board has been surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable and has taken decisive action," said Amanda Blanc, the senior independent director at BP and CEO of insurer Aviva.
Tuesday's news sent shares in BP on the London Stock Exchange plunging by as much 9% before staging a partial recovery. The stock was trading at just over $7 a share in mid-afternoon trade, down about 4.7%.
"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. BP is building a track record of strong underlying operational performance and a tight focus on financial discipline -- all in the pursuit of growing shareholder value and returns," said Tyler.
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Wreathes are seen amongst the statues at the Korean War Veterans Memorial during Memorial Day weekend in Washington on May 27, 2023. Memorial Day, which honors U.S. military personnel who died while in service, is held on the last Monday of May. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo