bp denied its former CEO Bernard Looney a nearly $41 million payout after it said he mislead the oil and energy company’s board of directors regarding the disclosure of his past personal relationships with company colleagues.
Looney knowingly misled the board, which amounts to serious misconduct, and therefore was dismissed without notice effective Thursday, according to a statement from bp.
In May 2022, bp’s board received and reviewed allegations relating to Looney’s personal relationships with company colleagues. During the review, Looney disclosed a small number of relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO and no breach of the company’s code of conduct was found. The board was, however, given assurances by Looney that he disclosed all relevant information.
- bp is No. 7 on CSP's 2023 Top 202 list of largest U.S. c-store chains by store count.
Looney later informed bp that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures and did not provide details of all his relationships, bp said. He announced his resignation as CEO on Sept. 12.
bp said looney will receive no further salary, pension allowance or benefits from the date of his dismissal, and he will not be paid any annual bonus in respect of the financial year 2023. His unvested performance share awards will lapse in full and his deferred annual bonus share awards will also lapse in full.
Nearly $41 million worth of Looney’s salary, pension, bonus payments and shares have also been forfeited or “clawed back,” bp said. That includes Looney being required to repay 50% of the cash portion of the annual bonus paid to him in financial year 2022 and to forfeit a portion of his award of shares.
The moves reflect the decision by the board that Looney “should not retain any variable pay relating to service following the date of the misleading assurances he gave to the board,” bp said.
Murray Auchincloss, the company’s CFO, has taken over as interim CEO.
bp’s international headquarters are in London while its North American base is in Houston. In the United States, bp operates more than 1,220 c-stores under the Thorntons and ampm brands. In May, it acquired a network of about 280 travel centers from TravelCenters of America.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.