(Bloomberg) — bp Plc appointed Simon Henry, a longtime Shell veteran, to its board of directors as the UK energy giant seeks to turn around its fortunes.
Image: Harbour Energy
Henry left Shell in 2017 after a 35-year stint in which time he held the role of chief financial officer and board member, London-based bp said Monday in a statement. He’s currently a director of Rio Tinto Plc and on the board of Harbour Energy Plc — roles he will relinquish. Henry held other prominent board seats in recent years, at Lloyds Banking Group Plc and PetroChina Ltd.
“The board will benefit from his deep and broad experience of the global upstream and downstream energy industry and his financial and commercial understanding of global markets, together with his extensive and varied board experience,” bp Chair Helge Lund said in the statement.
Lund has announced that he intends to step down and senior independent bp director Amanda Blanc, who’s also Aviva Plc’s CEO, is spearheading the search for a replacement. bp simultaneously announced on Monday that longtime director Pamela Daley will step down for personal reasons.
bp’s board has been trying to expand its oil and gas expertise following the company’s pivot away from its failed low-carbon strategy that has seen bp fall far behind its peers. In May bp named a former U.S. shale boss to the board.
