It’s official now. BP chief executive Tony Hayward is set to quit in October. However, Howard will get nominated for a non-executive position on the board of BP’s Russian joint venture with TNK, revealed a BP source said. Hayward’s American colleague Bob Dudley, who is in charge of the clean-up operation, is expected to become the new CEO. Dudley was the former chief of the BP-TNK joint venture, but he left Russia two years ago amid a dispute with shareholders.
Howard’s exit is unlikely to make things easier for BP, which is facing the mammoth tasks of stopping the offshore oil gusher and clean up efforts. "We're getting to the end of the situation," said David Battersby at Redmayne Bentley Stockbrokers. "To draw a line under it, they need a new chief executive."
“Right from the start of the Gulf disaster, Hayward couldn't seem to get it right. First came his predictions that the impact from the oil spill would be modest; then the stinging gaffe when he told television cameras he was eager for a conclusion to the catastrophe so that he could get his "life back," reported CBS.
Many Gulf residents are not excited after hearing about Hayward’s exit as the oil leak continued to foul their waters, their beaches and their way of life. "His first concern should have been the livelihoods of the people of the Gulf of Mexico," Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., told "The Early Show" today. Hayward joined BP 28 years ago as a rig geologist in the North Sea and became the CEO when Lord Browne stepped aside in 2007.
