BP is trapped in a corporate loop that would be funny if there weren't billions of dollars on the line. Just days after booting its chairman, Albert Manifold, over explosive allegations of bullying and toxic governance, the oil giant made a decision that left the City scratching its head. The board handed the keys to the search committee right back to Dame Amanda Blanc.
Yes, the very same Amanda Blanc who led the hunt that landed them Manifold in the first place.
It is a classic boardroom defensive crouch. Interim chair Ian Tyler issued a boilerplate statement trying to project calm, claiming the board specifically requested Blanc to lead this next "rigorous process." But beneath that veneer of corporate solidarity, institutional investors are furious. Letting the senior independent director run the exact same play after a catastrophic executive failure isn't continuity. It's stubbornness.
The Blind Spot in BP Boardroom Logic
You can see why the board wants to shield Blanc. She is a genuine heavyweight in British business. As the chief executive of Aviva, she has doubled the insurer's share price and engineered massive deals, including a £3.6 billion takeover of Direct Line. She is tough, competent, and usually commands immense respect from institutional shareholders.
But this choice ignores a fundamental rule of corporate governance. When a high-profile hire blows up in your face within eight months, the person who vetted them should probably sit the next round out.
City heavyweights are already warning that Blanc has seen her credibility dented by the Manifold fiasco. One major investor told the Financial Times that she should recuse herself and wait to be "refreshed" once a new candidate is secured. Another noted that while Manifold brought the drive BP wanted, the total failure to spot his incompatible management style falls squarely on the search committee.
When you get the choice half-wrong—and it's the half involving basic human conduct and corporate oversight—you don't automatically get a second roll of the dice.
A Head-Spinning History of Management Churn
To understand why investors are losing patience, you have to look at the sheer scale of the chaos at BP over the last few years. This isn't an isolated incident. It is a chronic pattern of structural instability.
- 2023: CEO Bernard Looney is fired after misleading the board about personal relationships with colleagues.
- Late 2025: His successor, Murray Auchincloss, abruptly exits with no clear explanation.
- April 2026: Former Woodside boss Meg O’Neill takes over as CEO—becoming BP's fifth chief executive since 2020.
- May 2026: Chair Albert Manifold is ousted after just eight months following whistleblower complaints regarding aggressive, overbearing conduct.
- June 2026: Head of gas and low-carbon William Lin announces his departure, adding to the executive drain.
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This is a dizzying amount of rotation for a FTSE 100 supermajor. Manifold was brought in specifically to help O'Neill aggressively pivot the company back toward oil and gas, dismantling Looney's heavily criticized green energy initiatives. Instead, insider reports suggest Manifold treated the non-executive chair role like an executive dictatorship, belittling senior colleagues and trying to run day-to-day operations.
Manifold is hitting back, publicly calling the board's characterization of his behavior "lies" and threatening legal action. It is a total mess.
Why Investors Want Fresh Blood
The core issue isn't whether Blanc is talented. She clearly is. The problem is that BP’s board has built a reputation for insular, rushed decision-making. Former executives have pointed out that the root vulnerability at BP lies in a weak, reactionary board that keeps misjudging the character and boundaries of its top leaders.
By keeping Blanc at the helm of the nominations committee, BP is signaling to the market that it sees nothing wrong with its internal vetting mechanisms. They are treating a systemic governance crisis as a fluke.
For a company that watched its share price tumble up to 10% following Manifold's removal, this lack of self-reflection is dangerous. Activist investors like Elliott are already circling the wagons, and the company cannot afford another misfire. Meg O'Neill needs a stable, complementary partner in the chair position to protect her own mandate. If the next appointment goes sideways, the backlash won't just hit the search committee—it will threaten the entire executive leadership team.
If you are an institutional investor looking at BP right now, the immediate next steps are clear. First, look past the generic assurances of a "rigorous process" and demand explicit transparency on how the executive vetting criteria have changed since last year. Second, use upcoming shareholder consultations to pressure the board into adding external, independent oversight to Blanc's committee. Continuity is comforting to a panicked board, but true stability requires the humility to change how you operate.
