US EditionBP appoints Meg O'Neill as CEO, Auchincloss steps down
Meg O’Neill will become BP’s first female CEO in April 2026, succeeding Murray Auchincloss amid a board-led plan to boost profitability and strategic focus.
- The FTSE 100 energy major named Meg O'Neill, CEO of Woodside Energy, as BP CEO effective April 1, 2026, after Murray Auchincloss's abrupt departure Wednesday.
- A board committee, assisted by an independent recruitment firm, chose Meg O'Neill after a search overseen by the BP board committee as part of long-term succession planning.
- O'Neill's tenure since 2021 reshaped Woodside Energy into the largest ASX-listed energy firm and led the acquisition of BHP Petroleum International, after 23 years at ExxonMobil.
- Until O'Neill arrives, Carol Howle will act as interim CEO while Murray Auchincloss stays as adviser until December 2026, and investors hope for steadier stewardship amid takeover rumours.
- The change adds to a recent pattern of short tenures at BP's top, with Murray Auchincloss serving under two years and Bernard Looney resigning under a cloud, while Meg O'Neill becomes BP's first female CEO, a milestone Albert Manifold welcomed.
136 Articles
136 Articles
Appointed head of BP after a career focused on oil and gas, the current Managing Director of Woodside Energy arrives at a turning point for the British "supermajor". In Africa, where the trade-offs between profitability, investor pressure and political stakes are already strong, his first choices will be closely followed.
Oil major BP announces first female CEO
Meg O’Neill, CEO of Australian oil and gas producer Woodside Energy, will replace Murray Auchincloss as CEO of the British major BP. O’Neill, a former ExxonMobil executive, will be the first woman to lead any of the world’s top oil companies and the first outsider to take the reins at BP. Her appointment is a sign of the pressure that activist hedge fund Elliott Management has brought to bear on BP’s board to give up its ill-fated push into rene…
Business - BP appoints Big Oil's first female CEO to continue shift away from renewables
London-based energy giant BP announced on Wednesday it was appointing Meg O'Neill as CEO starting on April 1. The executive, who has been at the head of Australian group Woodside Energy for the past…
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