(Bloomberg) – bp Plc appointed the former boss of a building-materials company as its new chairman, replacing Helge Lund amid pressure for a change in the company’s direction from activist shareholder Elliott Investment Management.
Albert Manifold. Image: bp
The London-based company said Monday that Albert Manifold, previously CEO of CRH Plc, will join as a non-executive director and chair-elect on Sept. 1. Lund, who already announced in April that he was going to step down, will depart on Oct. 1.
Manifold will step into the role at a challenging time for bp. After years of poor performance, the energy giant’s CEO Murray Auchincloss reset its strategy in February by promising to refocus on oil and gas. With a plan that features portfolio divestments to reduce debt and improve the balance sheet, the company has so far announced only small asset sales. It is yet to offload lubricants business Castrol, a disposal that people familiar with the matter said back in May could fetch $8 billion to $10 billion.
The company bolstered its board two weeks ago with the appointment of Simon Henry, a former CFO of Shell Plc, and before that with the hiring of a shale industry veteran. While Manifold lacks oil and gas experience, he oversaw a more than fourfold in the shares of CRH during his 11 years as CEO.
“His impressive track record of shareholder value creation at CRH demonstrates he is the ideal candidate to oversee BP’s next chapter,” Amanda Blanc, the senior independent director who led the search for BP’s new chairman, said in the statement.
Aberdeen Asset Management, a bp investor, said it “looks forward to engaging” with Manifold at a “pivotal time” for the firm. A second top-30 bp investor, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak to the media, said CRH’s share-price performance under his leadership was encouraging and that the speed of the recruitment process has helped eliminate uncertainty.
The company’s shares rose as much as 0.9% on Monday before paring their gain.
The European oil majors have improved their performance this year in comparison to American counterparts as they’ve retreated from their net-zero strategies, improved their balance sheets and have become more disciplined with spending. U.S. giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have been in growth mode as they’ve been swallowing massive upstream acquisitions.
Manifold’s leadership of CRH was notable for a decision in 2023 to switch the company’s primary listing from London to New York. Its US shares rose more than 70% since the change in September 2023, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. European energy giants TotalEnergies SE and Shell Plc have considered moving their primary listings to New York to tap into greater appetite among American investors for oil and gas giants.
“Manifold played a crucial role in CRH’s turnaround,” said Allen Good, an analyst at Morningstar. “Mostly through large acquisitions and divestments, he reshaped its portfolio to focus on heavy materials. This experience should serve him and bp well as they are embarking on a similar journey.”
The key issue for bp is where it’s ultimately headed and whether investors will remain committed as it works through its reset, he said. It may fall to Manifold to press the current leadership for additional moves, such as more asset sales, expense reductions, and scaling back capital spending, to satisfy shareholders, he said.
Manifold is also a non-executive director at Houston-based chemicals producer LyondellBasell Industries NV, and a non-executive director at Mercury Engineering, a closely held consultant.
“I look forward to working with the bp board, Murray and the leadership team to accelerate delivery of bp’s strategy and drive compelling and sustainable shareholder value creation,” he said in the statement.
The move solidifies the new makeup of bp’s board of directors. As well as Henry, the company appointed Dave Hager to the board at the end of May. Hager has been in the sector for more than 40 years, recently leading U.S. shale producer Devon Energy Corp. as chief executive and then executive chairman.
