Energy giant BP has appointed a female chief executive for the first time in its 116 year history.
Meg O’Neill will take over the reins of one of Britain’s biggest companies at the start of April, joining from Australia’s Woodside Energy, the largest energy company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The current CEO Murray Auchincloss steps down with immediate effect with Carol Howle, current executive vice president, supply, trading & shipping stepping in as interim CEO .
Auchincloss will serve in an advisory role until December 2026 “to ensure a smooth transition.”
Before joining Woodside Energy in 2018, O’Neill spent 23 years at ExxonMobil in technical, operational and leadership positions around the world.
The appointment will be seen as a major breakthrough in the progress of women to the very most senior executive roles in British industry. She is believed to be the first woman to run an energy major anywhere in the world.
O’Neill will be the 15th head of BP since it was founded in 1909 as the Anglo-Persian Oil company, and all her predecessors were men.
The abrupt departure of Auchincloss come less than two years after he replaced Bernard Looney, who was found to have committed "serious misconduct" in failing to disclose relationships with colleagues.
BP’s chair Albert Manifold, said: "We are delighted to welcome Meg O'Neill to the bp team. Her proven track record of driving transformation, growth, and disciplined capital allocation makes her the right leader for bp. Her relentless focus on business improvement and financial discipline gives us high confidence in her ability to shape this great company for its next phase of growth and pursue significant strategic and financial opportunities.
"Following a comprehensive succession planning process, the board believes this transition creates an opportunity to accelerate our strategic vision to become a simpler, leaner, and more profitable company. Progress has been made in recent years, but increased rigor and diligence are required to make the necessary transformative changes to maximise value for our shareholders."
Meg O'Neill said: "BP plays a critical role in delivering energy to customers around the world. I am honoured to serve as the company's next CEO. With an extraordinary portfolio of assets, bp has significant potential to reestablish market leadership and grow shareholder value. I look forward to working with the bp leadership team and colleagues worldwide to accelerate performance, advance safety, drive innovation and sustainability and do our part to meet the world's energy needs."
Murray Auchincloss said: "After more than three decades with bp, now is the right time to hand the reins to a new leader. When Albert became Chair, I expressed my openness to step down were an appropriate leader identified who could accelerate delivery of BP's strategy. I am confident that bp is now well positioned for significant growth and I look forward to watching the company's future progress and success under Meg's leadership."
Derren Nathan, head of equity research, at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown said:“In a world of J R Ewing style oil barons, BP has appointed Meg O’Neill as the first external candidate to take BP’s top job. She’s also the first woman to run an oil major. But the Colorado native is already an oil veteran.
“After 23 years at ExxonMobil, she joined Australia’s Woodside Energy in 2018, where she’s been CEO since 2021. One of her key milestones was the acquisition of BHP Petroleum, giving Woodside full ownership of the Scarborough Gas field and the Northwest Shelf LNG project.
