BP appoints Ian Tyler as permanent chair after turbulent leadership period

BP has appointed a new chair after a months-long search triggered by the controversial ousting of Albert Manifold, seeking to draw a line under years of boardroom turmoil at the UK oil and gas company.

Ian Tyler, who has served as the interim chair and has sat on the BP board as a non-executive director since April 2025, will assume the role on a permanent basis immediately.

His appointment comes after Manifold’s shock removal in late May after only eight months in the role, with BP citing “serious concerns” about his tenure.

Amanda Blanc, BP’s senior independent director who led the search for a new chair and also runs the insurer Aviva as chief executive, announced on Wednesday she would stand down at next year’s annual meeting.

She was criticised after Manifold’s short tenure as chair, because she had led the process that led to his appointment to replace Helge Lund. When Manifold left, Blanc said he had helped drive BP’s transformation but there had been “governance oversight and conduct issues” which the board deemed unacceptable.

Reports claimed senior colleagues had felt belittled by Manifold. He was also accused of aggressive behaviour and acting as if he had been an executive rather than a chair. Manifold responded by accusing the company of firing him without warning and disputed reports about his conduct.

Blanc came under fire after praising Manifold for his “relentless focus on performance which is well suited to BP’s needs” when he was appointed chair last July, after what she described as a “rigorous and comprehensive global search”.

Tyler is a former chief executive of the construction company Balfour Beatty. He chairs the builders merchants Grafton Group and is a senior independent director of the mining company Anglo American. In the past he chaired Cairn Energy and the housebuilder Vistry Group and served as a non-executive director of the defence contractor BAE Systems.

He is tasked with overseeing a shift in BP’s strategy to refocus on fossil fuel extraction and ditch renewable energy investments. The company’s chief executive, Meg O’Neill, urged Andy Burnham last month to make use of the UK’s oil and gas resources even though BP wants to sell its North Sea business.

O’Neill took the helm in April, the company’s third chief executive in less than five years. Bernard Looney, who had set a green strategy, resigned three years ago after admitting that he had failed to fully detail relationships with colleagues.

He was succeeded by Murray Auchincloss, who was ousted last December. BP came under pressure to improve its performance from the New York hedge fund Elliott Investment Management, which took a stake in the company last year.

Blanc said Tyler brought “significant experience providing challenge and support to executive teams, while maintaining strong governance and oversight on behalf of shareholders”.

Tyler said: “I will lead the board’s evolution, ensuring we have the depth, experience and capabilities needed to support the company’s strategic priorities and long-term value creation. I am committed to establishing regular and transparent engagement with our shareholders.”

He said he had asked Blanc to stay, but she believed that after four years it was an appropriate time for her to leave with a new chair in place.

Mark van Baal, the chief executive of the Dutch green activist shareholder group Follow This, said: “Many investors will ask if the new chair is able to fix BP’s broken governance.”

He said BP’s last annual meeting in April showed it was “completely out of touch with its shareholders” after protest votes against several resolutions, including an 18% vote against the re-election of Manifold as chair. More than half of the shareholders opposed BP’s plans to scrap its existing climate reporting.

“Having been on the board since 2025, Tyler is jointly responsible for BP’s governance problems,” he said. “We’re keen to learn what lessons he takes away from the triple shareholder rebellion in 2026, and how he aims to fix BP’s broken governance.”