BP (LON: BP) has removed Chair Albert Manifold with immediate effect, citing governance standards, oversight and conduct issues, less than eight months after he took office.
Manifold’s dismissal marks the latest in a series of leadership upheavals at the British oil company, which has faced repeated boardroom crises in recent years.
His departure follows the 2023 dismissal of former CEO Bernard Looney and the abrupt exit of CEO Murray Auchincloss in December 2025.
Meg O’Neill was appointed CEO following Auchincloss’s sudden departure, with no clear reason given at the time for his exit from the role.
Manifold had only taken up the chairmanship in July 2025, succeeding Helge Lund, who himself attracted criticism after receiving just 76% shareholder support at his reelection in April 2025.
In March 2026, Manifold announced plans to slim down BP’s board as part of the company’s wider reset strategy, with former Shell Chief Financial Officer Simon Henry among those departing.
Henry had only joined BP in September 2025, making his tenure at the company exceptionally brief before the board restructuring was announced.
BP named Murray Auchincloss as permanent CEO in January 2024, following his stint as interim chief after Bernard Looney’s dismissal in September 2023.
Looney was dismissed after less than four years in office for failing to disclose relationships with colleagues, a departure that initially shocked the energy industry and BP investors alike.
Before Looney, Bob Dudley served as CEO from October 2010, having replaced Tony Hayward, who stepped down after overseeing BP’s initial response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
The Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire occurred in April 2010 on a Transocean drilling rig operating for BP, killing 11 workers in one of the worst offshore disasters in history.
Prior to Dudley, John Browne resigned as CEO with immediate effect in May 2007 after a UK court lifted an injunction preventing a newspaper group from publishing details about his private life.
BP shares fell on Tuesday following news of Manifold’s ousting, contributing to losses for the stock even as the broader FTSE 100 index closed higher on the day.
The repeated leadership changes at BP have drawn sustained scrutiny from shareholders and analysts, raising questions about boardroom stability at one of the UK’s largest listed companies.