bp Chairman Lund re-elected to board despite protest vote
(Bloomberg) – bp Plc’s outgoing Chairman Helge Lund was re-elected to the company’s board amid a sizable protest vote.
Just under 76% of shareholder votes were in favor of his re-election, compared with support in excess of 90% for other senior company executives, according to preliminary figures shown at the annual general meeting on Thursday.
Prior to the meeting, investors including Legal & General Group Plc had said they would oppose Lund’s re-election in protest at bp’s recent strategy reset and the impact it will have on climate commitments.
The protest was largely symbolic, as Lund already announced his intention to step down as chairman.
See also: Climate activist urges bp investors to vote against oil-pro Chairman’s reelection
Lund, a key backer of bp’s previous unsuccessful strategy, was widely seen to be in a vulnerable position after activist investor Elliott Investment Management was revealed to have built up a 5% stake in the company, with the intention of pushing for change after years of underperformance.
The pressure only increased after CEO Murray Auchincloss’s strategy reset received a lukewarm response from investors and fell short of what Elliott had wanted. bp announced on April 4 that Lund would step down as chairman “in due course,” while remaining as a director during the transition to his successor.
BP has pledged to channel more investment into oil and gas, something Elliott and other investors have been urging. The resulting shift away from clean energy has prompted criticism from other shareholders, with representatives from wealth manager Rathbones and the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility raising the matter at Thursday’s meeting.
“With no other climate-related item on the AGM ballot, it is safe to assume that this vote against the Chair is in part a reaction to the ongoing climate governance concerns,” Nick Mazan, UK company strategy lead at the ACCR, said in a statement.
The process to select a new chairman is “well under way and moving at pace,” said Amanda Blanc, the senior independent director who is leading the process for bp. The search for Lund’s successor will be comprehensive “and as swift as possible,” she said at the meeting.
