{"id":508898,"date":"2026-05-29T15:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/508898\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T15:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:28:13","slug":"several-bp-shareholders-found-ousted-chairman-albert-manifold-challenging-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/508898\/","title":{"rendered":"Several BP shareholders found ousted chairman Albert Manifold \u2018challenging\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Several large BP <\/a>shareholders have criticised Albert Manifold\u2019s<\/a> claim to be a \u201cpassionate advocate of shareholders\u2019 rights\u201d, alleging that the ousted chairman was \u201cchallenging\u201d and a difficult man with whom to secure a meeting.<\/p>\n

Manifold was removed from his role as chairman <\/a>of the oil major this week following what BP alleged were \u201cserious concerns\u201d over his behaviour, which people close to the company have described as \u201cbullying\u201d.<\/p>\n

The former chairman on Thursday described the allegations as \u201clies\u201d, arguing that he had been tasked with improving BP\u2019s stuttering performance and dealing with issues that \u201ccould have impacted shareholders\u2019 interests\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Irish businessman added that throughout his career he had maintained \u201ca relentless focus on simply making businesses better\u201d and had been a \u201cpassionate advocate of shareholders\u2019 rights\u201d.<\/p>\n

But several shareholders told the Financial Times that during Manifold\u2019s time as BP chairman, he was reluctant to interact with them, making it hard to secure a meeting or only agreeing to video calls.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The ousting of Albert Manifold: \u2018They shot him before he could take his gun from his holster\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

One shareholder said they had been requesting a meeting with Manifold since shortly after he started in the role of chair on October 1st.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a good track record of interacting with CEOs [chief executives] and chairs [chairmen] at the organisation there, but it was harder getting a meeting with Albert,\u201d said the shareholder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand this experience is consistent with other investors as well,\u201d the shareholder added, saying Manifold was viewed as \u201cchallenging to interact with\u201d.<\/p>\n

A person at one leading BP shareholder said a colleague who had met Manifold during his time as chairman had described him as \u201ccondescending\u201d and \u201carrogant\u201d.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Manifold disputed the claims, saying he had \u201cmet every shareholder who requested a meeting and made a point of meeting the company\u2019s most demanding investors personally and regularly. Every meeting was arranged through the company\u2019s investor relations function or in conjunction with his personal assistant. <\/p>\n

\u201cAny decision to move meetings online was made by investor relations or the company secretary \u2013 not at Mr Manifold\u2019s request nor with his instigation.\u201d<\/p>\n

BP\u2019s shares rose about 29 per cent during Manifold\u2019s short stint as chairman, as he tried to pivot the company back to focusing on oil and gas after a stuttering foray into renewables. He played a key role in helping appoint a new chief executive, former ExxonMobil executive Meg O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n

While the share price rise was partly down to gains in oil and gas prices during the Iran war, BP\u2019s performance in recent months has outstripped peers, including Shell, after previously languishing.<\/p>\n

A second investor said that Manifold \u201cdidn\u2019t want to speak to shareholders unless it was worth his time\u201d.<\/p>\n

They added that before BP\u2019s annual meeting in April: \u201cWe were finding [the company] very difficult to get hold of, we were finding it hard to get answers. We voted against him as chair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manifold said on Thursday that he had spent only 13 days in BP\u2019s London head office in 2026, as he rejected an allegation that has emerged since his departure that he had been trying to act like an executive chair rather than fulfilling the non-executive role to which he was appointed.<\/p>\n

The ousted chairman, who turned Dublin-based building supplies company CRH into a New York-listed titan during more than a decade at its helm, said the claim was \u201cnonsense\u201d.<\/p>\n

Manifold also said in a statement on Thursday that he had sought to improve the \u201cefficiency and effectiveness\u201d of the board and how it spent its time.<\/p>\n

One shareholder defended Manifold, saying he had found him \u201cpunchy and direct\u201d in two online meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was to the point, which is exactly the character they were after hiring in the chair role,\u201d said the shareholder. \u201cThey wanted a man of action and got on with stuff and didn\u2019t mess around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another shareholder complained, however, that during video calls Manifold would often defer questions and answers to company secretary Ben Mathews.<\/p>\n

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Mathews and Manifold had clashed before the latter\u2019s departure and that the company secretary had concerns about the chair\u2019s conduct.<\/p>\n

People close to Manifold have alleged that Mathews was a driving force behind the BP board\u2019s decision to oust him. Mathews and BP have declined to comment on the allegation or on the fact that the company secretary is taking some time off work.<\/p>\n

\"\"Will new pay transparency rules close the gender pay gap for good?<\/p>\n

BP\u2019s interim chairman Ian Tyler said on Thursday: \u201cAs we have made clear, our former chair was removed as a result of unacceptable conduct. We have a duty of care to protect all our employees and as such we will never comment on specific people or situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manifold\u2019s spokesperson said that \u201ctechnical questions\u201d stemming from investor meetings \u201cwere handled by the most appropriate people as is standard practice in any large organisation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relevant people present at investor meetings alongside Mr Manifold were always the head of IR [industrial relations] or the company secretary,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

One shareholder said that investor concerns about Manifold had become heightened around BP\u2019s annual general meeting in April, partly due to a resolution to hold shareholder meetings virtually rather than in person, which ultimately did not pass.<\/p>\n

At the meeting, 18 per cent of shareholders had voted against Manifold\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur reading of the situation was that Albert was coming in and pushing back on areas where shareholders may have \u2013 what he might consider \u2013 an undue level of influence,\u201d the shareholder said.<\/p>\n

BP did not respond to a request for comment. \u2013 Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Several large BP shareholders have criticised Albert Manifold\u2019s claim to be a \u201cpassionate advocate of shareholders\u2019 rights\u201d, alleging…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[127624,39086,79,18,19,17],"class_list":["post-508898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-albert-manifold","tag-bp","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116658576636492767","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}