An easy narrative about the great BP boardroom drama runs like this: the plodding non-executive directors couldn’t handle the blunt ways of the hard-charging chair they had hired precisely to give the place a kick. Therefore the defenestration of Albert Manifold after only eight months in post shows BP is even more dysfunctional than thought.
The best outcome for shareholders, on this reading, would be a takeover bid from Shell to put everybody out of their misery. In the meantime, continues this interpretation, Amanda Blanc, the Aviva boss who is the senior independent director, should let somebody else lead the search for the next chair, given how her last production turned out.
