Bp changes ceo again: it will be the first major led by a woman
The British company, which has been in crisis for some time and under pressure from the Elliott fund, entrusts the task to Meg O'Neill, an experienced manager who has grown Woodside Energy: in April she will take over from Murray -Auchincloss, who has been in charge for less than two years
Under increasing pressure from the Elliott fund for an acceleration of its turnaround strategies, Bp has surprisingly announced a new change at the top: CEO Murray Auchincloss, less than two years after his appointment, was removed from the post to make way for Meg O'Neill, who thus becomes the first woman in the world to lead an oil major, as well as the first person that the British company - in over a hundred years of history - has selected from outside for this top role. O'Neill is also the first openly homosexual manager at the helm of a Ftse 100 company.
Firsts aside, Meg O'Neill - 55 years old, American - has a career of more than 20 years at ExxonMobil and since 2021 has been CEO of Australia's Woodside Energy, which under her leadership has become one of the largest independent oil companies, valued at $40 billion and with hydrocarbon production that has doubled thanks to the purchase in 2022 of Bhp's oil & gas assets.
Woodside also bought Tellurian in the US last year, declaring its goal of becoming a global LNG giant. Last April, also in the US, it approved a 17.5 billion investment to build the Louisiana Lng terminal.
On the Sydney list Woodside lost 2.7% after the announcement of the CEO's farewell, while Bp's stock in London closed almost unchanged.
O' Neill will join Bp on 1 April, which in the meantime will be led on an interim basis by Carol Howle, now Head of Trading. Auchincloss has in fact left the post with immediate effect, although she will remain with the company until December 2026 as a consultant to facilitate the handover.
