BP appoints former CRH boss Albert Manifold as new chairman

BP has named the former boss of building materials firm CRH as its incoming chairman, replacing Helge Lund after a difficult past few years in the role.

Albert Manifold, who was chief executive of CRH for 10 years until last December, will join the oil giant as chairman-elect on September 1 before taking over as chairman on October 1.

Mr Lund had announced plans in April to step down “in due course”, but the group said it would probably take until 2026 to find his successor.

Shares in BP lifted 1% in early morning trading.

Aviva chief executive Dame Amanda Blanc, BP’s senior independent director who led the hunt for Mr Lund’s successor, said Mr Manifold was “the ideal candidate to oversee BP’s next chapter”.

She said: “Albert has a relentless focus on performance which is well suited to BP’s needs now and into the future.

“He transformed and refocused CRH into a global leader.”

CRH, which has its headquarters in Ireland, switched its stock market listing from London to New York in 2023 and has since seen its share price rocket by 74%.

Speculation has swirled over whether BP will move its London listing to Wall Street after activist investor Elliott Management built up a stake in the group.

But BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss has previously dismissed the rumours, saying in April the group had no plans to change its listing.

Mr Lund has been chairman since 2019, but he has presided over a more challenging past few years for the firm.

He oversaw the hiring of former chief executive Bernard Looney, who quit in September 2023 after failing to disclose his past relationships with company colleagues.

Mr Lund also played a key part in overseeing the group setting its net zero agenda, but the firm has since rowed back on the shift towards green energy.

BP bowed to pressure from shareholders by vowing to accelerate investment in oil and gas while slashing renewable spending by nearly three-quarters.

In a major rebuttal for a FTSE 100 company, Mr Lund received a near 25% vote against his re-election at the firm’s annual general meeting in April.

Ahead of the AGM, a group of 48 institutional investors had criticised the board for not offering a direct vote on the oil major’s revised strategy, while environmental groups fiercely criticised the climate row-back.

The vote was largely seen as a protest, as Mr Lund had already announced his departure at the time of the AGM.