BP's deputy CEO, head of trading Carol Howle to retire, company says

By Stephanie Kelly

LONDON, June 30 (Reuters) - BP's deputy CEO and trading chief Carol Howle will retire, the energy major said on Tuesday, extending a leadership shake-up that has seen a new CEO appointed and the chairman removed in recent months.

Sam Skerry, who has led BP's mergers and acquisitions business since 2022, will succeed Howle from August as head of supply, trading and shipping, the company said.

The changes follow the appointment of former Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill as BP chief executive in April after Murray Auchincloss departed. Chairman Albert Manifold was removed by the board in May over governance and conduct issues, which he disputes.

After an ill-fated foray into renewables, BP announced last year a strategy reset focused on investing in oil and gas projects.

Almost all of the leaders in place during BP's attempt to grow its low-carbon business have left the company, with Gordon Birrell, head of upstream, remaining.

Howle, a 26-year BP veteran who was named deputy CEO in April after serving as interim chief executive, had been overseeing the company's ongoing portfolio review and strategy development.

CEO O'Neill said she would not replace the deputy CEO role.

"We have significant actions underway to streamline the organizational model and we have a focused leadership team in place," O'Neill said in a statement.

Skerry will lead BP's huge trading desk, whose oil trading team recently helped boost profits for BP amid the Iran war.

BP also said Sonya Adams, chief of staff since 2024, will take over responsibility for the company's people and culture functions. She will succeed Kerry Dryburgh, who is leaving the company after 16 years.

Both Howle and Dryburgh will leave BP in the third quarter.

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly. Editing by Mark Potter)