By Adam Whittaker

BP's Chairman Helge Lund will step down some time next year, as activist investor Elliott Management pushes for changes at the British oil major.

The British energy company said Friday that it has started the search for Lund's replacement, whom he will work with to ensure an orderly transition process.

Lund's departure comes as activist investor Elliott Investment Management is pushing for significant changes at the company.

The U.S. hedge fund is known for pressuring companies to fire management, break apart and spin off businesses, all in the service of increasing shareholder returns.

Since Elliott's stake was first reported, Lund's position has been regarded as vulnerable given he was a backer of BP's now jettisoned low-carbon strategy.

Elliott--which is widely reported to have built an around 5% stake in the oil major--was dissatisfied with BP's strategic reset in February, believing it lacked urgency and ambition, Bloomberg reported at the time, citing unnamed sources.

The reset strategy renewed BP's focus on core oil-and-gas production while sharply cutting investment in clean-energy assets in an effort to grow cash flow and shareholder returns.

In a move to reduce debt, BP said it was also targeting $20 billion of asset sales by 2027. The divestments could include BP's lubricants business, Castrol, which the company is strategically reviewing.

"Having fundamentally reset our strategy, BP's focus now is on delivering the strategy at pace, improving performance and growing shareholder value. Now is the right time to start the process to find my successor and enable an orderly and seamless handover," Helge said.

Lund's decision to step down should be well received by investors and reinforces BP's decision to change its strategic direction, Jefferies analysts Giacomo Romeo and Kai Ye Loh write.

His departure also shows the first real impact of Elliott's involvement, they add.

BP said that senior independent director Amanda Blanc is leading the recruitment process. Helge joined BP's board in July 2018 and was appointed chair in January 2019.

BP shares closed at 400.45 pence on Thursday. They are currently up 1.9% over the year to date.

Write to Adam Whittaker at adam.whittaker@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 04, 2025 03:02 ET (07:02 GMT)

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