Give BP's 'continuity candidate' time to succeed or fail on net zero strategy | Nils Pratley

There is method in the oil conglomerate's decision that the best candidate for CEO is the one already doing the job After a "robust and competitive" hunt for a new chief executive, the board of BP has decided the best appointment is the bloke who has been sitting in the boardroom for three-and-a-half years already and doing the job on a stand-in basis since the defenestration of Bernard Looney last September.No surprise there. BP has never appointed a boss from outside and Murray Auchincloss, the former chief financial officer, fits the bill as a continuity candidate. He has been in the company for 25 years and is wedded to Looney's - and chair Helge Lund's - strategy of "orderly" transition to net zero by 2050 or sooner. He did the numbers on the approach, after all. Continue reading...