MW Under-fire BP says its chair will leave, but not soon

By Steve Goldstein

BP, under fire from an activist shareholder over its stock-market performance, on Friday said its chair will step down.

Helge Lund will step down as chair, "most likely in 2026," the integrated oil major said. Amanda Blanc, the senior independent director, will lead the succession process which will first include the successful candidate joining the board and then taking on the position.

"Having fundamentally reset our strategy, BP's focus now is on delivering the strategy at pace, improving performance and growing shareholder value. Now is the right time to start the process to find my successor and enable an orderly and seamless handover," Lund said in a statement.

He added that he and the board are "committed to supporting" CEO Murray Auchincloss and his team, who recently announced a new strategic direction that relies less on renewable energy and more on oil and gas production.

"We are starting a comprehensive search to identify chair candidates with the credibility and relevant experience to lead the board and continue driving management's safe execution of the reset strategy," said Blanc.

Analysts at Jefferies led by Giacomo Romeo pointed out that Lund oversaw the selection of BP's former chief executive Bernard Looney, who resigned over a failure to disclose personal relationships.

"The decision to step down should be well received and reinforce BP's intention to undergo a structural strategic change. It also likely shows the first real impact of Elliott's involvement," said the analysts.

Elliott reportedly has taken a 5% stake in BP. A message left with the shareholder was not immediately returned.

BP's U.S.-listed shares $(BP)$ (UK:BP) are up 6% this year, in line with rivals Exxon Mobil $(XOM)$ and Chevron $(CVX)$, but its margins and price-to-earnings ratios are lower, according to FactSet data.

-Steve Goldstein

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April 04, 2025 02:59 ET (06:59 GMT)

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