Crude language is the least of BP’s Manifold problems
Yesterday saw the ousting of BP chair Albert Manifold after less than one year in the role. According to various media reports, Manifold was “shouty” and “aggressive”, with a “volcanic temper”.
But try as it might to escape crude language, BP’s board may soon suffer similar missives from its shareholders after another c-suite scandal left the company’s stock in the doldrums, shedding £4bn from its market cap in minutes.
Execs at the top of BP seem to have an even shorter tenure than recent prime ministers, and that’s saying something. The oil major is now on its fourth chief executive since the beginning of 2020.
The second of the two, Brendan Looney, was thrown out in 2023 over undisclosed “relationships” with colleagues. His successor, Murray Auchinchloss, who was equally familiar with office friendships, survived for little more than a year, though he was sacked for different reasons.
While by most accounts the latest chief, Meg O’Neill, is settling in well, it’s instead the turn of the chairman, Manifold, to face defenestration after taking up his role only months ago. Known as a no-nonsense boss when he ran construction materials firm CRH, the Irish exec’s tone was a little too curt for some.
Shareholder unease
“His impact was necessarily limited by the short period of time being in the role,” as one City analyst put it yesterday in one of the more brutal corporate obituaries we’ve seen.
The mess comes just weeks after BP suffered a rare double defeat on resolutions it put forward at its AGM, one on scrapping in-person shareholder meetings, and another on watering down its climate reporting requirements. Manifold himself did not escape scrutiny with a fifth of investors voting against his re-election as chair.
The energy giant finds itself caught between investors who want it to double down on oil while the going’s good and those adamant that it should take a longer-term view on energy sources.
Its shares have seriously underperformed that of rival Shell over the past five years, which at one point was rumoured to be weighing snapping it up on the cheap. Though the stock began to gather momentum earlier this year, with Manifold’s turnaround efforts thought to have shown early positive signs.
Aside from strengthening its hiring due diligence practices, what the company desperately needs is a chairman who can square the circle and set a clear vision that unites shareholders across the spectrum. Manifold gave it a good go, but clearly the board wants someone to do it in gentler tones.