12/17/2025
BP Appoints First Outsider as CEO After Ousting Auchincloss
Bloomberg (12/17/25) Wright, Keira; Liao, Ruth; Ferman, Mitchell
BP Plc (BP) appointed Meg O’Neill as chief executive officer, replacing Murray Auchincloss after just two years in the job as the oil giant struggles to revive its fortunes following a botched pivot toward renewables. O’Neill, who becomes Big Oil’s first female leader and BP’s first external CEO hire, moves from Australia’s Woodside Energy Group Ltd. (WDS), where she spent four years in the top job with a clear focus on fossil fuels. She previously spent more than two decades at Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM). The shakeup comes as BP lags behind rivals due to a combination of corporate disasters, war, lackluster returns from its renewables efforts and some bad luck. That led to pressure from investor Elliott Investment Management, and a turnaround effort focused on oil and gas that has struggled to impress shareholders. The latest in a slew of leadership changes over recent years saw the oil giant name Albert Manifold as chairman in July after pressure from Elliott. “When we met him recently it was very clear he would act to drive change through the business and, in particular, get BP back focused on what it does best, which is primarily upstream oil and gas production,” said Iain Pyle, Senior Investment Director at Aberdeen Investments, a BP shareholder. O’Neill, Pyle added, “comes with the appropriate background to deliver this.” Elliott built up a stake of just over 5% in BP and has engaged in a campaign to return the company to its core oil and gas focus — demanding changes including substantial cost cuts, asset sales and an exit from renewables. Manifold has been privately engaging Elliott the past couple months, people familiar with the matter said. The investor welcomes the new, external leadership which shows that the company is taking the turnaround plan seriously and with urgency, people close to Elliott said. O’Neill starts in April, and Carol Howle — BP’s head of trading — will serve as interim CEO until then, the company said in a statement. Woodside under O’Neill focused on growing its core gas assets, brokering a takeover of a proposed US liquefied natural gas plant in Louisiana, and winning approval to keep Australia’s oldest and biggest gas-export facility operating through 2070. “She’s got a very hands-on track record in engineering and operations, which suggests a back-to-basics approach for BP,” said Neil Beveridge, managing director of research at Bernstein. “With Meg coming on board, the direction will clearly be oil and gas and LNG.” BP shares rose slightly, up 0.5% to 428 pence at 10:09 a.m. in London, in line with European rival Shell Plc (SHEL) as Brent crude futures also edged higher. Auchincloss took over as CEO in January 2024, replacing Bernard Looney, who abruptly resigned after failing to disclose past relationships with colleagues. While Auchincloss reset BP’s strategy in February of this year — announcing divestments to reduce debt and strengthen the balance sheet — the London-listed firm has so far announced only minor asset sales, and the reaction from investors has been lukewarm. In the weeks and months following that reset, BP was the subject of takeover speculation. Shell was working with advisers to study the merits of acquiring BP, Bloomberg reported in May. In June, Shell said it had no intention of making an offer, refuting a Wall Street Journal report that two of Europe’s biggest companies were in active merger talks. “Although the announcement was surprising in terms of timing and immediacy, we expect that the change will ultimately be positive” for BP’s stock price, Piper Sandler analysts including Ryan Todd said in a note. “There has been pressure for a more aggressive, ‘everything is on the table’ approach, and a fresh look at everything from strategy to portfolio to culture, that would benefit from an outsider.” Woodside shares closed down 2.7% in Sydney on Thursday, at the lowest level since October. Liz Westcott will take over as acting CEO of Woodside, the Australian producer said in a separate statement.
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