Story of the Week (DR):

BP ousts chair over ‘serious’ governance, oversight concerns MM

The board said the decision was unanimous. In a statement, Amanda Blanc, BP's senior independent director, described the board as having been caught off guard by what it found: "The board has been surprised and disappointed to learn of governance oversight and conduct issues it deems unacceptable and has taken decisive action."

The oil giant’s board removed Albert Manifold from his roles as chair and director this week, effective immediately. He faced a contingent of investor opposition at BP’s recent annual meeting.

Internal leaks and a whistleblower report point to a pattern of "aggressive," "verbally abusive," and "bullying" behavior toward multiple colleagues, alongside accusations of withholding info from the board and leaking privileged data.

Ousted BP Chair Hits Back at ‘Lies’ About His Conduct

The boardroom turmoil at BP deepened after its ousted chair, Albert Manifold, claimed allegations about his conduct were “lies”.

In a new and lengthy statement, Manifold disputed reports about his conduct, saying: “At no point in my tenure as chairman of BP has anyone raised with me any issue about my conduct or my relationship with my colleagues.”

He also described media reports that he wanted to exert control of the FTSE 100 company like an executive chair as “nonsense”. Manifold said he had “many other commitments” and had only spent 13 days in BP’s London office so far this year.

“What I do not accept is that lies can be told about me, nor that anyone should be allowed to hide behind anonymity when commenting on my time at BP.”

Manifold conceded he may have “pushed hard and challenged people directly” amid his “determination to drive change on costs, performance, the balance sheet and shareholder communications”.

However, he disputed reports from the company about his behaviour, adding: “There is a considerable distance between driving an organisation with urgency and the characterisation of my conduct that is now being put about.”

He said such “accusations” had not been previously made about his behaviour during his 40-year career. He added that he “called out … unnecessary or excessive expenditure” but felt not everyone shared his priorities.

Manifold said he turned down many of the benefits traditionally enjoyed by top executives, which he called a “culture of entitlement”, including chauffeur-driven cars, being flown by private jet or taking advantage of corporate hospitality: “I had no interest in having a dedicated chauffeur-driven limousine at my beck and call on the occasions that I was in London. I, like most people, walked, took taxis, trains, etc. I had no interest in taking private aviation nor in availing myself of corporate tickets for sports events. I made my own coffee, bought my lunch in the local cafe. I sat in a small office, eschewing the grand corner-office privilege of previous chairmen.”

Ian Tyler has been named interim chair, BP said, with the board set to begin a formal process to identify a permanent successor: "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."

This marks BP's fourth abrupt top-tier departure in three years, following the rapid exits of previous chair Helge Lund and chief executives Bernard Looney and Murray Auchincloss.

Board

Ian Tyler Interim Chair 2025

Meg O'Neill CEO 2026

Kate Thomson CFO 2024 (Interim in 2023)

Dame Amanda Blanc Senior Independent Director 2022

Dave Hager 2025

Tushar Morzaria 2020

Hina Nagarajan 2023

Satish Pai 2023

Dr. Johannes Teyssen 2021

Manifold took up the chairmanship just last October. At last month's annual general meeting, just 81.8% of shareholders backed his election

Among the most consequential decisions of Manifold's short tenure: pushing out former CEO Murray Auchincloss and overseeing the selection of Meg O'Neill to succeed him — a hire that marked the first time BP had recruited an external CEO and the first time a woman had led one of the oil industry's largest players.

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