Five of BP’s nine-person leadership team are women, including its top two managers
Oil major BP has made its shipping chief its second in command as part of a reshuffle of its leadership team.
Carol Howle, who is executive vice president of BP’s supply, trading and shipping division, was named deputy CEO of the group on 2 April.
Howle has headed up BP’s shipping activities since February 2018 and will continue to do so in her new role.
She has worked for BP for 26 years and served as interim chief executive before Meg O’Neill started the top job last Wednesday.
In her new deputy CEO role, Howle will also oversee BP’s ongoing portfolio review and strategy development.
BP’s strategy and sustainability team will report to her.
The reshuffle means that five of BP’s nine-person leadership team are women, including its top two managers.
O’Neill is the first woman to lead BP and its first external hire for the top job in over 100 years.
She joins from Woodside Energy, Australia’s largest oil and gas company, where she was CEO and managing director.
BP has had three chief executives in under five years.
Bernard Looney resigned abruptly in 2023 after failing to fully disclose details of his past personal relationships with colleagues.
He was succeeded at that time by Murray Auchincloss.
Howle was said to have been in the running to take over from Looney at the time of his departure
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