Top women exit BP in post-looney shake-up

TWO senior female executives are leaving BP in the first management shake-up since former chief Bernard Looney quit after a string of workplace affairs.

Leigh-ann Russell, the chief technology officer, is moving elsewhere after 18 years with the company, while Anja-isabel Dotzenrath, will retire after just two years heading up BP’S gas and low carbon division.

They are both being replaced by men, which, combined with a reduction in the size of the management team, will reduce the number of female executives at BP to five out of 10. It marks a reversal from 2022, when BP was praised for becoming the first oil giant to have more women than men on its top team.

Writing about the appointments in a Linkedin post in December 2022, former boss Mr Looney said BP had “flipped the gender balance”.

The changes are the first major shake-up under Murray Auchincloss, who took over from Mr Looney as chief executive in September.

Mr Looney resigned after he was found to have knowingly misled BP’S board over personal relationships with staff. It was later reported that he’d also been accused of promoting women with whom he had prior relationships. The Irishman was dismissed without notice in December over serious misconduct, forfeiting up to £32m in pay and benefits.

Following his departure, Mr Looney said he was proud of his record at BP, adding that he was “disappointed with the way this situation has been handled”.

Emeka Emembolu, Mr Looney’s former chief of staff, will take over from Ms Russell, while William Lin, a BP lifer, will succeed Ms Dotzenrath.

Ms Russell joined BP in 2006, occupying a variety of roles in its upstream business before joining the leadership team in 2022.

Ms Dotzenrath joined from RWE Renewables, which she led. Both enjoyed the support of Mr Looney, who described them in 2022 as “two fantastic leaders”.

The internal restructuring will also see BP’S regions, corporates and solutions unit, which had been led by Mr Lin, disbanded and folded into the group’s three main divisions.

Mr Auchincloss said: “We need to deliver as a simpler, more focused and higher value company. These changes will help us do just that, reducing complexity within BP, allowing our team to focus on delivering our priorities, and growing the value of BP.”

Mr Auchincloss is rebuilding his executive team as the company seeks to position itself for the switch to greener energy while maintaining its core fossil fuel business, something that requires a careful balancing act.

At the same time, the British company has become a potential target for bidders as depressed stock market valuations for UK companies draw takeover interest.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and BP have spoken directly in recent months about a potential deal, Reuters reported.

Talks didn’t go beyond preliminary discussions after Adnoc concluded that BP was not a good fit for its strategy and became concerned about the politics of any bid. An approach for BP would inevitably provoke government involvement because of the company’s importance to the UK economy and its role in the energy industry.

The global oil sector has seen a recent surge in deals as the shift to net zero prompts consolidation.

Exxonmobil last year struck a deal to buy Pioneer Natural Resources for $60bn (£48bn), while Chevron agreed to purchase Hess for $53bn. Leigh-ann Russell, who joined the leadership team in 2022, is leaving BP after 18 years with the company