BP 2005 Annual Report Download - page 5

BP Annual Report and Accounts 2005 3
a whole to focus on the strategic issues, which in turn leads
to an effective use of board time. The work of each of the
committees is described in more detail in the Governance:
board performance report on pages 158-163.
I am pleased that, during the year, we have been able
to contribute to the debate on corporate governance best
practice. The past few years have seen a swathe of regulations
in response to high-profile corporate scandals and failures.
These interventions have led to detailed examinations of
corporate governance regimes in the UK, US and Europe as
well as the rest of the world. The frameworks within which
companies and boards operate vary significantly, just as
the systems of legal and financial regulation differ. Above all,
governance systems and processes must be fit for purpose
for each different company in the legal and capital markets
in which they operate. Where markets do not offer adequate
safeguards to shareholders, governance practices must
evolve to fill that gap. While the board evaluation exercise
we undertook this year indicated areas in which our practices
should develop, the internal and external endorsement our
board has received reassures us that the governance of your
company is state-of-the-art.
Our work on board succession and development
continues. During 2005, we said farewell to our two longest-
serving directors, Sir Robin Nicholson and Chuck Knight,
whose substantial contributions we acknowledged last year.
At the forthcoming AGM, Michael Miles will step down.
Michael has served on the BP board since June 1994. He has
made significant contributions to both the audit and the ethics
and environment assurance committees. His experiences of
working in the Far East have been of particular value to us
in recent years as the markets in that region have become
so important. We shall miss Michael’s contributions at the
board and his commitment to board and committee work.
Against this background, the work of the chairman’s
committee and the nomination committee, both of which
I chair, continues. Processes have been established for
executive and non-executive succession for the future.
The nomination committee in particular is continuing to
review the skills needed on the board to rise to the evolving
challenges faced by BP and the work of the board in the
coming years.
If 2005 was a demanding year, I am sure that 2006 will
continue to stretch the abilities of both the board and the
executive team. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank
you for your support.
Peter Sutherland
Chairman
6 February 2006