bp has appointed Murray Auchincloss as CEO, effective immediately, the company said Wednesday. Auchincloss, who has been interim CEO since September 2023, will continue as a member of the bp board. The company’s previous CEO Bernard Looney resigned in September after he failed to fully disclose information about his past personal relationships with colleagues.
“It’s an honor to lead bp—this is a great company with great people,” said Auchincloss. “Our strategy—from international oil company to integrated energy company, or IOC to IEC—does not change. I’m convinced about the significant value we can create.”
Before becoming interim CEO, Auchincloss had been bp’s chief financial officer since July 2020, at which time he also joined bp’s board. He previously served as CFO, deputy CFO and head of business development for bp’s Upstream segment. From 2010-2013 Murray was head of bp’s group chief executive’s office.
Murray, 53, joined Amoco Canada in 1992. Following financial and planning roles in Canada and the U.S., his career included periods as commercial director for bp’s Onshore North America business and CFO for bp’s North Sea business. He has a degree in finance from the University of Calgary and is a Chartered Financial Analyst and is also a member of the Aker BP board.
His appointment follows a search process, carried out by the board over the past four months with support from international search advisers. This included detailed consideration of a range of candidates, including external to bp. Auchincloss' appointment was approved by the full bp board, excepting Auchincloss.
“Since September, bp’s board has undertaken a thorough and highly competitive process to identify bp’s next CEO, considering a number of high-caliber candidates in detail,” said Helge Lund, bp chairmain. “The board is in complete agreement that Murray was the outstanding candidate and is the right leader for bp.”
Auchincloss’s annual salary of CEO of bp will be $1.84 million.
The announcement comes after bp shareholders urged the company to approach Charles Woodburn, CEO of British aerospace company BAE Systems, as the oil company’s new CEO, according to a Jan. 6 report from Sky News. However, a BAE spokesperson said “we have no comment on bp personnel matters.”
- bp is No. 7 on CSP's 2023 Top 202 list of largest U.S. c-store chains by store count.
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.
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