Dave Lawler, chairman and president of bp America and CEO of oil and gas producer bpx energy, recently announced he was leaving the company. The news comes nearly three weeks after bp CEO Bernard Looney resigned after he failed to fully disclose information about his past personal relationships with colleagues.
Orlando Alvarez will replace Lawler as chairman and president of bp America while Kyle Koontz will take on the role of CEO of bpx energy.
Lawler is leaving after nine years with the company to pursue new career opportunities outside of bp, the company said in a staff announcement from Gordon Birrell, executive vice president of production and operations, and William Li, executive vice president of regions, corporates and solutions, which it shared with CSP Daily News.
“We want to thank Dave for his years of service to bp and bpx. During his tenure, bpx saw improvements in safety, emissions, production and financial performance, as well as the acquisition of BHP assets in 2018,” Birrell and Li said in the Friday memo. “At bp America, Dave led the formation of the U.S. Business Leaders Team to help formulate and implement the new U.S. transition strategy and create greater connectivity and alignment across the U.S. businesses, while building programs to improve staff diversity through scholarships linked to internships for the next generation of bp leaders.”
- bp is No. 7. on CSP's 2023 Top 202 list of largest U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Alvarez will continue his role as senior vice president, gas and power trading, Americas, bp said. He has more than 30 years of experience in the U.S. energy industry. He has been in his current role for 12 years and serves on the bp America board.
Koontz has been vice president of development at bpx for the past three years and joined bp in 2016. He has 16 years of experience in U.S. energy industry, focused on large-scale investment in unconventional assets. His successor has not yet been announced.
Chicago-based bp owns convenience-store brands ampm and Thorntons. In May, it completed its acquisition of TravelCenters of America, Westlake, Ohio. Bpx, bp’s U.S. onshore oil and gas business, began operating as a standalone entity in 2015. bp appointed Murray Auchincloss, the company’s CFO, interim CEO of the oil company following Looney's departure. Kate Thomson was then appointed interim chief financial officer.