BP backs Amanda Blanc to lead search for new chair despite investor concerns | BP
BP has backed Amanda Blanc to lead the search for a new chair for a second time, shrugging off investor concerns about her role at the company following the shock departure of her chair last week.
Some shareholders have expressed concerns about Blanc, the British oil company’s senior independent director, rerunning the process after Albert Manifold’s brief tenure as chairman.
But BP interim chairman Ian Tyler said in a statement: “At the request of the board, Amanda Blanc will lead the search for BP’s next chairman. As with previous searches, this will be a rigorous process involving the full board and the final decision will reflect our collective view.”
Blanc, who is also chief executive of insurer Aviva, led BP’s search for Helge Lund’s successor in 2025, which culminated in Manifold’s appointment as chairman last July. In that case, praised his “relentless focus on performance” “It is well suited to BP’s current and future needs.”
Manifold, the former boss of Irish building materials company CRH, started his job in October, tasked with a shift in the oil company’s strategy to refocus on fossil fuel extraction and divest from investments in renewable energy.
He was sacked a week ago after just eight months in the job, and Blanc said at the time there were “management oversight and governance issues” despite helping drive BP’s transformation. [the board] finds it unacceptable.”
senior colleagues reportedly He felt slighted by Manifold and was also seen trying to assert control as if he were a manager and not a chair.
Manifold hit back, accusing BP of firing him “without warning or explanation”. He said last Wednesday: “I completely dispute the characterization of my behavior and will not allow a false narrative to go unchallenged.”
A number of City figures, including major investors in BP, have cast doubt on whether Blanc is the right person to lead the search for Manifold’s successor, the Financial Times reports.
BP also said William Lin, head of its gas and low carbon division, will leave this year after more than three decades at the company. It’s the latest in a string of high-level departures as the company refocuses on its core oil and gas business.
BP chief executive Meg O’Neill thanked Lin for his “leadership, influence and long-standing commitment to BP” and wished him every success in the future.
Boardroom turmoil has rocked BP’s boardroom many times in recent years. In December, Manifold fired then-chief executive Murray Auchincloss, who had been in the role for less than two years, and hired O’Neill, a former ExxonMobil executive. He took over as CEO in April and began reorganizing the business into two main divisions: upstream and downstream.
Manifold became the second senior leader to be sacked for his behavior in three years. When Auchincloss was appointed CEO in September 2023, he replaced Bernard Looney, who was sacked for not disclosing his relationships with colleagues.
Even in its short time in business, Manifold had angered some investors. At his first annual meeting in charge of the board, almost a fifth (18%) of the votes opposed his re-election after Follow This, an environmentally focused shareholder group, blocked his decision.
Follow This had asked the company to report on how it would protect shareholder value if oil and gas demand declines.
