British Petroleum (BP) has named Albert Manifold as its new chairman, replacing Helge Lund, who announced his departure from the company three months ago. This change comes amid pressure from shareholders for the company to switch its focus away from renewables and back to fossil fuels.
Change of Guard
Manifold, who was chief executive of the building materials company CRH for a decade, will take charge in October at a crucial time for the FTSE 100 oil giant, which is struggling with a debt mountain, poor share performance, and a reputation tarnished by its disastrous 2020 commitment to cut fossil fuel output by 40pc.
Dame Amanda Blanc, an independent director at BP, said incoming chairman Mr Manifold had shown as “impressive track record of shareholder value creation at CRH”.
She said: “Albert has a relentless focus on performance which is well suited to BP’s needs now and into the future. He transformed and refocused CRH into a global leader by building on its rich heritage to deliver superior growth, cash generation and returns.”
Mr Manifold said the job would give him the “the opportunity to help the company reach its full potential”. Mr Manifold is currently a non-executive director at chemicals producer LyondellBasell Industries and at consultant Mercury Engineering
