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BP has appointed a former chief financial officer of rival Shell to its board as the energy major seeks to bolster the oil and gas experience among its non-executive directors in response to investor pressure.
Simon Henry, who held the role at Shell from 2009 until 2017, will join BP’s board from September, the company said on Monday.
Since leaving Shell after a 35-year career, Henry has served as a non-executive director at Lloyds Banking Group, PetroChina and North Sea-focused oil producer Harbour Energy.
He is on the board at mining group Rio Tinto but is to step down in the second half of 2025.
The appointment of Henry, as well as Ian Tyler and US oil executive Dave Hager, who also joined BP as directors this year, was part of an overhaul designed to ensure the board had “the necessary skills and experience” to drive forward the company’s strategy, BP said.
The group is separately seeking a new chair to replace the outgoing Helge Lund.
The BP board would benefit from Henry’s “deep and broad” career in the energy industry, understanding of global markets and “extensive and varied” experience, Lund said.
BP in February abandoned a four-year-old drive to pivot the company towards greener forms of energy and has told investors it would refocus much of its efforts on its traditional oil and gas business. The shift was announced after it emerged US activist investor Elliott Management had built a large stake in the company and was pushing for change.
Despite BP’s moves, the company’s shares have lagged behind rivals, leading to speculation that the company has become a takeover target and heaping pressure on chief executive Murray Auchincloss.
The selection of the next chair was being closely watched by investors and was seen as key to BP’s ability to manage shareholder pressure and rebuff any potential takeover attempt. The board was in the latter stages of making its selection and was assessing a list of candidates, a person familiar with the matter told the Financial Times last week.
As part of the changes announced on Monday, BP said non-executive director Pamela Daley would step down for “personal reasons” with immediate effect. She had served on the board since 2018 and was also a board director at BlackRock.
