BP CEO Bernard Looney Resigns Over Personal Relationships With Colleagues

(RTTNews) - BP plc (BP.L) on Tuesday announced that Bernard Looney has resigned as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

Looney, who took over the reins of the oil major in 2020, resigned after failing to fully disclose details of past personal relationships with colleagues, the company said.

Murray Auchincloss, the company's CFO, will act as CEO on an interim basis.

Looney's resignation came after allegations of personal relationships with company colleagues surfaced recently, prompting the company to launch an investigation.

In May 2022, the Board received and reviewed allegations, with the support of external legal counsel, relating to Looney's conduct with respect to personal relationships with company colleagues. The information came from an anonymous source.

During that review, Looney disclosed a small number of historical relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO. No breach of the Company's Code of Conduct was found. However, the Board sought and was given assurances by Looney regarding the disclosure of past personal relationships, as well as his future behavior.

Looney informed BP's board on Tuesday that he did not fully disclose details of all relationships, prompting his resignation.

"The company has strong values and the Board expects everyone at the Company to behave in accordance with those values. All leaders in particular are expected to act as role models and to exercise good judgement in a way that earns the trust of others," BP said in a statement.