Albert Manifold ousted as BP chair over governance and conduct concerns

BP stock falls by more than 4 percent in US and UK markets as governance concerns lead to chairman Albert Manifold’s ousting.Albert Manifold is out as chairman of British Petroleum (BP), effective immediately after only eight months on the job.His exit on Tuesday comes amid “serious concerns” that were raised to the oil and gas giant’s board about “important governance standards, oversight and conduct”, the company said in a statement, but did not elaborate on what those concerns entailed.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Starbucks’ Korean sales fall after backlash to ‘Tank Day’ ad campaignlist 2 of 4Pakistan and China reach ‘new broad consensus’ on boosting tieslist 3 of 4Israel’s labour force transformed since October 7list 4 of 4India, US strike critical minerals deal: What’s in it, why does it matter?end of listManifold’s departure comes amid a wave of leadership changes at the London-based energy giant.Three years ago, CEO Bernard Looney was fired after he lied about personal relationships with colleagues.Ian Tyler, a former chief of British construction group Balfour Beatty and who has been on BP’s board since last year, will be interim chair.With Manifold new in the job, Looney’s successor Murray Auchincloss left abruptly in December, with no clear reason given for his exit. Former Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill was immediately announced as BP’s fifth CEO since 2020 to accelerate the company’s shift in focus back to oil and gas and away from renewable energy, a strategy change announced by Auchincloss early last year.BP said its board had unanimously decided that Manifold – who has had the backing of activist hedge fund Elliott, which has built up a stake of about 5 percent in BP – should no longer serve as chair and director with immediate effect.“This follows serious concerns raised to the board related to important governance standards, oversight and conduct,” BP said.“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 senior independent director Amanda Blanc. Blanc oversaw Manifold’s appointment in October.