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A quarter of BP investors voted against the re -election of the outgoing president Helge Lund in the greatest protest against the head of a board of directors of the FTSE 100 for five years.
The preliminary results of the annual general meeting of the energy company showed Thursday that 24.3% of BP shareholders voted against Lund, who said this month that he would resign “most likely in 2026”.
Murray Auchincloss, CEO of BP, was re -elected with more than 97% of the vote, while the company's remuneration plan was approved by 95.5% of shareholders.
While the vote against Lund was symbolic, the rebellion reflected the frustration of shareholders during the dull BP performance, an individual shareholder asking why the board of directors did not favor the course of the action.
BP shares have dropped almost 13% during the year to date, compared to 5% for a drop in the rival shell.
The revolt has been the greatest protest vote against a president of an FTSE 100 company since 2020, when almost 43% of Easyjet investors rebelled during the re -election of President John Barton.
The main shareholder of BP, Legal and General had also reported plans to vote against his re -election because of his dissatisfaction with the changing strategy of the major oil.
L&G, one of the 10 best investors with a 1.8%stake, said it was “deeply concerned” by BP's decision to return to oil and gas and away from a radical investment in renewable energies, and the absence of a vote on the subject.
The last time BP underwent such a revolt was in 2016, when 59% of shareholders voted against the framework of the director of the chief of the time, Bob Dudley.
Other individual investors participating in the meeting in Sunbury, near London, wondered if Lund, who is also president of the Novo Nordisk pharmaceutical group, spent enough time on BP, and asked if he thought he had held the management of BP to take into account the previous strategy of the company.
BP announced in February a fundamental “reset” to focus on oil and gas in order to improve its cash flows and shareholders' yields.
“You are responsible for taking the leaders to report. BP was in the press for all the bad reasons and I do not think that the board of directors has removed the chain to do things well,” said an individual shareholder.
“For 15 months, at each meeting of the board of directors, we examined each part of the strategy,” replied Lund. “I devoted and I spend a lot of time to BP,” he added.
Dame Amanda Blanc, BP's main independent director, promised that the search for Lund's successor was in progress and would be concluded as quickly as possible.
“It is in everyone's interests so that the transition period is brief,” she said, suggesting that the Lund calendar for his departure could be accelerated.
Before AGA, three of the 30 main BP institutional shareholders said they would support the re -election of Auchincloss, but only because they feared causing more turbulence in society in difficulty.
“Remove both the chair and the CEO would be very destabilizing. It is not absolutely clear that Murray is the good managing director, but it would be a great risk of having so many changes,” said one of them.
Additional Emma Dunkley report in London
