BP hits reset again, taps Woodside’s Meg O’Neill as next CEO

The New York Times, CNBC, and Reuters contributed to this report.

BP is switching captains — again — and this time it’s going outside the usual BP bench.

The British oil giant said it’s hiring Meg O’Neill, the chief executive of Australia’s Woodside Energy, to take over as BP’s new boss. She’ll start in April, becoming BP’s first female CEO and the first outsider to land the top job.

That move pushes out Murray Auchincloss, who’s leaving after less than two years as CEO. He’s stepping down Thursday, and BP says Carol Howle, an executive vice president overseeing supply, trading and shipping, will serve as interim CEO until O’Neill arrives.

The change lands after a messy stretch for BP: years of lagging performance, strategy U-turns, and leadership drama — including the 2023 exit of former CEO Bernard Looney after failing to disclose personal relationships with employees. Auchincloss, Looney’s former CFO, had already started steering BP back toward its oil-and-gas core and away from Looney’s aggressive renewables push, but investors have stayed restless.

Analysts say O’Neill’s appointment is likely to calm at least some of that noise. She’s been leading Woodside since 2021, previously spent 23 years at Exxon Mobil, and is known for a direct, no-frills style — a vibe investors often like when a company’s been stuck in boardroom turbulence.

Auchincloss suggested the writing was on the wall once BP hired a new chair, Albert Manifold, in October. Auchincloss said he told Manifold he was open to stepping aside if the board found the right successor. In BP’s announcement, Manifold said the company needs “increased rigor and diligence” to make the kind of changes shareholders want.

Not everyone loves the timing, though. Some analysts warned that pushing out another CEO so quickly risks more instability — especially with a transition period that leaves BP in interim leadership through the spring.

For now, the message from the top is pretty clear: BP’s trying to stop the churn, sharpen the strategy, and convince investors it’s finally serious about getting its house in order.