So, the Daily Telegraph reports Tony Hayward is going to step down. I can't guess at the reason, the company has been doing so well. After all, any CEO would love to be lampooned in Doonesbury; transcending business media into political cartoons is the mark of a great businessman.
It's hard not to write this diary without just a pinch of snark. Poor, poor Tony, forced out by the BP board for (gasp) losing money!
The departure of Mr Hayward is expected to be announced alongside the company’s half-year results tomorrow. BP is forecast to post a pre-tax loss of up to $25 billion (£16 billion), which would be the biggest ever quarterly loss by a British company, after making provisions for the cost of the oil spill.
Of course, given the state of today's media and business accounting, you never know if that reported loss is accurate. We also know, like hundreds of CEOs before him, Tony will get millions in pensions and benefits. The people along the Gulf Coast whose lives Tony's company ruined? They'll have to apply for benefits from the disaster escrow account. Somehow, I don't think any of them will be as comfortable as Tony "I want my life back" Hayward. Oh, wait, there haven't been any payments into the escrow account yet....(h/t to Vyan)
It looks like his replacement will be an American, Bob Dudley, who had taken over the company response to the oil spill. I'm sure this had nothing to do with Mr. Hayward's "little people" comments. Mr. Dudley is just a good ole' boy from down south, who's mission is to sooth Republican voters suddenly hosed down by their ideology. After all, the market must be free, the contracts to the CEOs must be honored, and profit MUST BE MADE. Because if you're the CEO and really screw up, kill people, kill ecosystems and kill profit, you get......paid.
Update [2010-7-25 19:39:50 by The Voice from the Cave]: I guess in all the issues w/ the servers earlier, search wasn't working all that well. Christian Dem in NC had already put this information up, and I just found it. So, if you're reading this, head on over there and drop a rec and a tip. I don't have much to add to this subject, and it doesn't seem to be all that interesting to the community. I guess I'll delete this in a few mins.