BP Chair Helge Lund plans to step down as the struggling oil major pivots away from the net zero strategy he championed amid pressure from Elliott Investment Management.
Lund was widely seen to be in a vulnerable position since Bloomberg reported that Elliott had built up a 5 percent stake in BP with the intention of pushing for change. The pressure only increased after CEO Murray Auchincloss’ strategy “reset” fell short of what the activist investor had wanted.
BP dropped a plan to shrink oil and gas production and promised to spend less money on clean energy, but Elliott saw the proposals as lacking in urgency and ambition. It had been considering a push for major changes in the company’s management, people familiar with the matter have told Bloomberg. A spokesperson for Elliott declined to comment.
“We thought any activist would call for a change in the chairperson,” who is seen as a chief architect of the company’s prior strategy, RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said in a note. “It is unclear whether this is the driver, however stepping down voluntarily is probably a better look than the alternative.”
