BP 2006 Annual Report Download - page 7

over a period of six months. The chairman’s committee was in
a position to identify a succession candidate in Tony Hayward,
then chief executive of the exploration and production
segment. Accordingly, John will retire on 31 July 2007 and
Tony has been appointed by the board to succeed him.
Tony has had an outstanding career at BP and the board
believes he has the intellect, skills and personal qualities to take
your company through the coming challenges and changes.
John Browne is one of the great businessmen of his
generation and has led the transformation of BP into one of
the biggest energy groups in the world. His performance over
the past 12 years has been extraordinary. He has consistently
been identified by his fellow chief executives as the most
impressive businessman in Britain.
I would like to thank John on behalf of the board for his
great achievement in leading the transformation of BP from
a mid-ranking regional oil company to what it is today.
Following Tony Hayward’s appointment as group chief
executive designate, Tony has passed his responsibilities as
chief executive of exploration and production to Andy Inglis,
who was appointed to the board on 1 February 2007. Andy
was previously deputy chief executive of exploration and
production and has held a number of posts in that segment
during his career with the group, which started in 1980.
Michael Wilson stood down as a director last year to take up
the post of Canada’s ambassador to Washington. He had joined
the BP board in 1998 at the time of the Amoco merger after
a distinguished political and business career. He had a keen
interest in corporate governance matters, being the chairman
of the Canadian Coalition of Good Governance. He had brought
all these strengths from his political and business background
to our board and committee deliberations.
John Bryan will stand down at the forthcoming AGM. John
also joined the BP board at the time of the Amoco merger
and has made significant contributions to both the audit and
remuneration committees. His experience as a former CEO
in the US has been invaluable to the board over the years.
We shall miss his contribution at the board and his
commitment to board and committee work.
I was pleased to welcome Sir William Castell as a new
non-executive director in July. Bill is chairman of the board of
governors of the Wellcome Trust and is a non-executive director
of the General Electric Company, having been chief executive
of Amersham plc and subsequently president and chief
executive officer of GE Healthcare. Bill is a member of the
chairman’s, the audit and the safety, ethics and environment
assurance committees.
I believe that the board has the right mix of skills and
experience to address the issues that we face. I will keep this
under review as we refresh the board over time. There remain
significant challenges for the group in securing its business into
the medium and the longer term. The board will be focusing on
these in the coming year. On behalf of the board, I would like
to thank you for your support.
Peter Sutherland
Chairman
23 February 2007