BP Names New Finance Chief Ahead of CEO's Retirement -- Update
January 21 2020 - 8:27AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah McFarlane
Oil giant BP PLC has appointed Murray Auchincloss as its chief
financial officer, expanding changes to the company's leadership
ahead of Chief Executive Bob Dudley's planned retirement.
Mr. Auchincloss, currently CFO of BP's upstream business,
replaces Brian Gilvary, who is retiring on June 30 after eight
years in the role and 34 years at BP. The change follows Bernard
Looney's appointment as CEO from Feb. 5. Mr. Looney is currently
head of BP's upstream business.
"I have worked side-by-side with Murray for many years and have
the utmost confidence in his ability to step into this critical
role," said Mr. Looney.
The executive changes come as BP and its peers face increased
pressure from investors to show how they are adapting to survive
the global transition from fossil fuels to lower-carbon energy.
BP has lagged other European oil majors' investment in renewable
energy such as solar and wind, allocating 3.2% of its budget last
year, compared with an industry average of 7.4%, according to
analysts at Bernstein.
The company is due to update its five-year strategy in the
second half of this year and Mr. Looney is expected to accelerate
BP's efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
Speaking on the company's results call in October, Mr. Gilvary
said that with the emerging low-carbon agenda, "He [Mr. Looney]
arrives at a time when we're seeing huge change in terms of society
and what society expects."
"It's an opportunity to slightly move the ship in a slightly
different direction in this case plotting perhaps a more pacey
course."
Mr. Gilvary served as CFO during a difficult decade for BP as it
sold tens of billions of dollars' worth of assets after the costly
Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010 and a collapse in oil prices
starting in 2014.
Before his appointment as CFO, Mr. Auchincloss held roles at BP
including head of the group chief executive's office and CFO of the
North Sea business.
Write to Sarah McFarlane at sarah.mcfarlane@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2020 08:12 ET (13:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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