Oil major BP completes search for chair after boardroom upheaval
BP on Wednesday formally appointed Ian Tyler as chair after the surprise dismissal of his predecessor Albert Manifold contributed to leadership upheaval at the oil major.
Tyler joined the company’s Board as a non-executive director in April last year and was appointed interim chair on May 26.
“Ian brings significant experience providing challenge and support to executive teams, while maintaining strong governance and oversight on behalf of shareholders,” Dame Amanda Blanc, BP’s senior independent director, said Wednesday.
The company also announced that Blanc will not stand for re-election at the 2027 annual general meeting and will step down from the board once a successor has been appointed for her role.
Tyler said he had asked Blanc to stay, but she told him that after four years, now was an appropriate time to plan for her departure from the board.
Conduct concerns
Manifold, who had only been in post for around seven months, had faced accusations of “serious concerns” relating to governance standards, oversight and conduct.
The former chair has pushed back against the accusations, saying he’d been removed from his post “without warning and without explanation” and that he disputes “entirely the characterisation” of his conduct.
His dismissal once again raised questions about BP’s corporate governance after a succession of abrupt leadership departures. In 2023, Bernard Looney resigned as CEO after the company said he misled the board about past relationships with colleagues. He was succeeded by Murray Auchincloss who stepped down after less than two years in the role.
Current CEO Meg O’Neill took the reins in December, becoming the company’s fourth CEO in six years.
