The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

By Neil Unmack

LONDON, May 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - BP’s BP.L new chair will need to tick many boxes. The $109 billion scandal-prone company has ejected Albert Manifold citing unacceptable conduct issues, including bullying, which he denies. Either way, the latest debacle adds to a long list of tasks for the next board leader, including avoiding climate battles, office romances and fending off hostile bidders. Breakingviews considers how a headhunter would tackle the brief.

FAO: BP Board and Senior Independent Director Amanda Blanc

Thank you for asking Horizon Partners to assist the BP board in finding a new chair. As an expert executive recruitment firm in the natural resources sector, we are uniquely placed to understand your needs, and given the rate of churn in the company, we look forward to a lasting and mutually satisfactory relationship. I will forward you our package that will expire in 2036.

This won’t be an easy task. It took several months to replace former BP Chairman Helge Lund with Manifold, after all. And any candidates may be put off by endless churn in the executive ranks. This started with former boss John Browne’s abrupt resignation in 2007, followed by Tony Hayward’s departure in 2010, and the unplanned exits of CEO Bernard Looney and his successor Murray Auchincloss more recently. To narrow the field, we've drawn up a list of key requirements for the role. Using our deep City of London intelligence network and ChatGPT, our proprietary AI platform, I came up with a list for your consideration.

KEEP IT LIGHT GREEN

BP has had a tricky relationship with the environment. Looney made a noble charge beyond petroleum, which alienated some shareholders. Manifold steered BP back to fossil fuels, which has helped boost its share price by nearly 30% since his appointment. But blocking an environmental resolution at BP's annual shareholder meeting was a needless own goal which triggered unnecessary controversy. The new chair can rest easy in the knowledge that most long-term shareholders care little for abstractions like the collapse of the Atlantic’s critical ocean current and want the company to drill. But you still need to let the naysayers have their moment in the sun. There is such a lot of it these days!

SUPERIOR SANDPIT MANAGEMENT SKILLS

BP hasn’t publicly disclosed details about the conduct issues that led to Manifold’s exit, but a spokesman described his behaviour as “shouty” and that he acted more like an executive chair than a part-time board head. Manifold says that he pushed hard to cut costs, but says the conduct accusations are “lies”. Either way, you are going to need someone with experience as a chair in tough turnaround situations who can hold current CEO Meg O’Neill to account without any fear of being seen to overstep. Manifold’s suggestion that more needs to be done on costs can’t be ignored, so the new chair will have to be happy flying commercial, getting to work without a chauffeur-driven limousine and know their way around a self-serve coffee machine.

NO SEX PLEASE, WE'RE BRITISH

Before the next great extinction event, humans still have a few more years left to think about fluffy things like romance. But no-one wants a repeat of the undisclosed relationships that sank Looney back in 2023.

Our ideal candidate is someone in a stable marriage, with a partner of a similar age and with the so-called 7-year itch and mid-life crisis behind them. Our database suggests such episodes less frequently involve executives who are female. The board already has several prominent women: including O’Neill and finance chief Kate Thomson. Maybe it’s time to take the “Y” chromosome out of chair role too?

AN M&A BLACKBELT

Let’s face it, one of BP's rivals is going to have a pop eventually. Whether that is now amid all the boardroom noise, or in a few years once peak oil has passed and industry majors need to consolidate. BP’s share price rise means it is not easily gobbled up, but its market capitalisation is still less than half the size of $236 billion Shell SHEL.L, and under a third of mighty Chevron CVX.N, which is worth $365 billion.

The new chair will need to have good relations with the government to help fight off any U.S. bidders, and the jujitsu moves to outflank Shell. Good luck with that!

In short, BP needs someone who is part monk, part nursery school-teacher, a boardroom veteran and part-time M&A banker, who can simultaneously calm climate activists while putting regular shareholders first. Our database has yet to find the right candidate. ChatGPT suggested Wonder Woman. But I am sure we will get there, perhaps in 2027.

I look forward to receiving your initial commission.

Sincerely,

Slick Wellman

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