US hedge fund Elliott Investor Management said today it wants to work with BP's new chairman to address the company's "shortcomings".
BP earlier said it had chosen Albert Manifold, previously chief executive of Irish building materials group CRH, to succeed Helge Lund as its chairman on 1 October.
BP issued a further notice to the London stock exchange today that its decision to select Manifold had partly been informed by insights garnered from investors as to why a resolution to reappoint Lund saw 24.3pc of votes against at the company's AGM in mid-April.
Elliott, which has built a stake of just over 5pc in BP, said the UK major "requires decisive and effective leadership to overcome its chronic operational underperformance".
It noted Manifold's "record of delivering shareholder value at CRH" and said it looks forward to working with him "to urgently address BP's shortcomings — particularly around its cost base, capital allocation and poorly received turnaround plan."
Manifold was chief executive of CRH from 2014 to 2024, having previously been chief operating officer there. In 2023, he oversaw CRH's shift of its primary listing from London to New York — a move that preceded a sharp rise in the company's share price.
In the past two years, BP's peers Shell and TotalEnergies have faced questions about shifting their primary listings to New York, as part of efforts to close the valuation gap) with US rivals ExxonMobil and Chevron.
Amanda Blanc, BP's senior independent director who led the succession process, said Manifold has "an impressive track record of shareholder value creation" and is "the ideal candidate to oversee BP's next chapter."
Manifold also holds non-executive roles at chemicals producer LyondellBasell and engineering consultancy Mercury Engineering.
