Helge Lund to be appointed as BP chairman

BP announced today that it has appointed Helge Lund to succeed Carl-Henric Svanberg as chairman of BP.

Lund will join the BP Board as chairman designate and a non-executive director on 1 September 2018. He will be appointed chairman on 1 January 2019 and be based in London, BP said in a statement.

Lund, who is also chairman of healthcare company Novo Nordisk AS in Denmark, will stand down with immediate effect from his directorship at Schlumberger, the global oil service group, a position he has held since 2017.

“BP has come successfully through a challenging period under the strong and committed leadership of Carl-Henric and Bob. I am looking forward to working with Bob and his team as they address the changing energy landscape.”

BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg, who will be stepping down said: “I am delighted that Helge Lund is to be BP’s next chairman. Our industry is changing faster than ever as the world focuses on meeting the dual challenge of more energy with fewer emissions. Helge has a track record of leadership in addressing these issues, characterised by his open-minded and forward-looking approach.”

BP group chief executive, Bob Dudley said: “With strategic vision and a modern, global perspective, he (Lund) has a clear understanding of the challenges and the opportunities facing our industry.

“I am confident Helge, with the rest of the board, will provide the company with good governance and strategic guidance as we continue to grow and adapt through the energy transition.”

Lund served as chief executive of BG Group from 2015 to 2016 when the company merged with Shell. He joined BG Group from Statoil where he served as president and CEO for 10 years from 2004.

Prior to Statoil, he was president and CEO of Aker Kvaerner, an industrial conglomerate with operations in oil and gas, engineering and construction, pulp and paper and shipbuilding. He has also held executive positions in Aker RGI, a Norwegian industrial holding company, and Hafslund Nycomed, an industrial group with business activities in pharmaceuticals and energy.

He has worked as a consultant with McKinsey & Company, served as a political advisor for the parliamentary group of the Conservative party in Norway and he has been a non-executive director of Nokia between 2011 and 2014.

He is an operating advisor to Clayton Dubilier & Rice, the US investment firm. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Crisis Group and served as a member on the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on Sustainable Energy in the period 2011-14.

He has a degree in business economics from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH) in Bergen and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from INSEAD business school in France.