BP Appoints Meg O'Neill as the First Female CEO

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) is included among the 12 Best Crude Oil Stocks to Buy for Dividends.

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) is a British multinational company recognized worldwide for quality gasoline, transport fuels, chemicals, and alternative sources of energy such as wind and biofuels.

BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) made headlines on December 18 when the company announced a major leadership shakeup, appointing Meg O’Neill as the company’s new CEO. O’Neill, who is replacing Murray Auchincloss for the top position, is the London-based company’s first external hire for the post in more than a century, and the first woman to lead a Western oil major. She led Australian-listed Woodside Energy into becoming a renowned name in the LNG space, and will take her position as BP’s boss in April. Until then, the company’s head of trading, Carol Howle, will act as interim CEO.

Meg O’Neill is set to inherit BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) during a period of major strategic shift for the company, as it slashes billions in planned renewable energy initiatives and shifts its focus back to traditional oil and gas. Moreover, the energy giant is looking to optimize its operations and has pledged to slash up to $5 billion in costs and divest $20 billion in assets by 2027. The strategic refocus on fossil fuels appears to have gone down well with investors, with BP shares up by over 15% since the beginning of 2025.

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