BP Investors Demand Clarity Over Ousting of Chair Albert Manifold
Uncertainty Surrounding Albert Manifold's Departure
Investor and Executive Reactions
June 9 (Reuters) - Top BP investors and former executives said they remained in the dark about the precise circumstances that led to the departure of former chair Albert Manifold, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
BP did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment outside regular business hours.
Concerns from Leading Investors
"He was aggressively instituting change and that made the bureaucracy uncomfortable,” one leading investor told FT.
“Were people trying to get him out of the door? That is our and many other investors' concern,” the same unnamed investor said.
BP Board's Decision and Market Impact
BP's board ousted Manifold in May expressing serious concerns about his governance standards, oversight and conduct, driving its share price down as much as 10%.
Manifold's Response to Dismissal
Manifold said after his departure that not everyone at the oil major shared his priorities to cut costs and boost efficiency and acknowledged he may have "pushed hard" for change, but denied any misconduct.
BP's Official Position
A BP spokesperson told FT that the company was firmly focused on cost discipline and delivering value for its shareholders.
Confidentiality and Duty of Care
The oil major had been unable to give full details of Manifold’s dismissal because it has a duty of care towards the staff who complained about the former chair, a person close to the company told FT.
BP's Strategic Reorganization
BP CEO Meg O'Neill, who took office in April, is reorganising BP into two main business units of downstream and upstream - bundling oil and gas production - in a move aimed at making BP simpler and more valuable. This change would start in June, Reuters reported last week.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
