Hayward to quit BP
27 Jul 2010
London – Tony Hayward is stepping down as BP’s group chief executive as of 1 Oct and will be succeeded by fellow executive director Robert Dudley. Hayward will remain on the BP board until 30 Nov. BP also plans to nominate him as a non-executive director of TNK-BP.
Hayward was appointed to the main board of BP in 2003, becoming CEO of BP’s exploration and production segment responsible for the group’s assets and operational activities relating to the discovery and production of hydrocarbons.
He took over the helm at BP on 1 May 2007 in controversial circumstances: replacing Lord Browne, who stepped down as CEO amid a scandal over his legal attempts to stop newspapers publishing details of an affair with a male escort.
As well as strong business growth during his fair-weather tenure, the flamboyant Lord’s legacy included the fallout from a fatal accident at BP Texas City and a major oil spill in Alaska. In the former incident, for instance, BP was found to have run down investment in the former Amoco-owned facility, despite a long a track record of fatal accidents at the US site.
Hayward was, therefore, seen as a steady pair of hands to restore BP’s corporate responsibility credentials – a role he seemed to fulfil until the start of this year when, first he awarded himself a massive pay rise despite a huge dip in profits, and then, far more dramatically, the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico on 20 April.
As well as being a ready fall guy for US politicians keen to deflect any potential blame for their shambolic regulation of deep sea oil exploration, Hayward managed to score a number of PR own goals – often appearing to play down the seriousness of the accident and its environmental impact.
In essence, though, the BP boss lacked the forcefulness of character to ride out such a storm – and to deal with fundamental problems at the corporation, particularly in the US.
Wielding the axe, BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said: “The BP board is deeply saddened to lose a CEO whose success over some three years in driving the performance of the company was so widely and deservedly admired.
“The tragedy of the Macondo well explosion and subsequent environmental damage has been a watershed incident. BP remains a strong business with fine assets, excellent people and a vital role to play in meeting the world’s energy needs.
“But it will be a different company going forward, requiring fresh leadership supported by robust governance and a very engaged board.”
Hayward joined BP in 1982 and, following a series of technical and commercial roles in BP Exploration in London, Aberdeen, France, China and Glasgow, in 1992 he moved to Colombia as exploration manager. In 1995 he became president of the BP group in Venezuela.
In 1997, he returned to London as a director of BP Exploration and following the merger of BP and Amoco, in 1999 he became a group vice president and a member of the upstream executive committee.
He was appointed group treasurer in 2000 where his responsibilities included global treasury operations, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions. He was appointed an executive vice president in 2002 becoming chief operating officer for exploration and production later that year.
