WOKE WEDNESDAY: The Oily show, with BP's Looney exit and next CEO prediction, NFL's oilmen are racists, and Vince McMahon's lifetime appointment
Live from an oily puddle, it’s the ESG Industry’s ONLY weekly woke data podcast, featuring AnalystHole Matt Moscardi! In today’s greasy ESG gasbag called September 13, 2023: oily CEO exits, oily racist NFL owners, an oily, gross dude who can’t be fired, and the great Paul Hodgson from ESGauge
Our show today is being sponsored by ESGauge, your ESG data solutions provider: Paul will jump on later to talk about “women in the workforce”
DAMION1
BP CEO Bernard Looney Resigns Over Past Relationships With Colleagues
CEO Bernard Looney resigned abruptly Tuesday over past relationships with colleagues, the company said, less than four years after taking over the London-based oil giant and embarking on an ambitious plan to position it at the vanguard of the global transition to renewable energy.
Looney’s resignation was a surprise, and the company said in a release on Tuesday that his departure is immediate.
The company on Tuesday evening said Looney was “not fully transparent” about past personal relationships with colleagues. BP said CFO Murray Auchincloss would serve as CEO on an interim basis.
BP said Tuesday that the company’s board in May 2022 reviewed allegations of what it said were Looney’s personal relationships with colleagues, based on anonymous information. It said Looney disclosed a small number of such past relationships that occurred before he became CEO. BP said it found no breach of company code.
But the board has received further allegations, which it continues to investigate. “Mr. Looney has today informed the company that he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures,” according to BP’s statement.
“No decisions have yet been made in respect of any remuneration payments to be made to Mr Looney.”
Earlier this year, Looney faced criticism from environmental groups after scaling back its climate ambitions at the same time as announcing that annual profits more than doubled to $28bn (£23bn) in 2022 after a sharp increase in gas prices linked to the Ukraine war boosted its earnings.
Looney’s departure, first reported by the Financial Times, marks a changing of the guard at Britain’s two largest energy companies. Wael Sawan took over at BP rival Shell in January.
Recent history of weird CEO departures:
(Lord) John Browne stepped down in 2007 amid “allegations about his romantic life [re: gay] and alleged misuse of company funds”
The career of one of the titans of British industry came to a dramatic end yesterday when Lord Browne quit as chief executive of BP after lying to a court about his relationship with another man.
Following crisis talks at the company's London headquarters, BP said Lord Browne had resigned with immediate effect after losing his four-month battle to suppress newspaper reports about the relationship. In doing so, he forfeited a leaving package worth up to £15.5m.
Lord Browne went all the way to the House of Lords in his attempts to prevent Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, from disclosing details of his relationship with Jeff Chevalier, his Canadian partner between 2002 and 2006.
A series of hearings considered evidence about the pair's extravagant international lifestyle, disputed allegations that company resources were diverted for Mr Chevalier's use, and claims - firmly denied - that Lord Browne attempted to evade tax payments.
Tony Hayward took over in 2007
In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill forced Hayward out, replaced by Bob Dudley
Bob Dudley replaced by Looney in 2020
BP’s Revolving CEO Door Is Beyond the Pale: Bernard Looney’s resignation is the company’s third early boss departure in the last two decades. That’s an anomaly in Big Oil.
Demand for Oil, Coal, Gas to Peak This Decade, IEA Chief Says
Demand for all three major fossil fuels—oil, coal and natural gas—will peak this decade, marking the “beginning of the end” of fossil fuels and a “historic turning point” in the world’s transition toward renewable energy, the head of the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.
The IEA has been at the forefront of predictions that demand for fossil fuels is reaching its zenith, but it is the first time the Paris-based agency has predicted a peak in demand for all three energy sources.
The prediction, based on figures in an annual IEA report to be released next month, foresees that current climate policies driving the transition away from fossil fuels will be enough to see demand for all fossil fuels peak before 2030. That suggests stronger action on climate change could encourage a faster decline in demand.
Ex-NFL Network Reporter Sues League For Racial Discrimination—Accusing Bills And Cowboys Owners Of Offensive Comments
Former NFL Network reporter Jim Trotter sued the NFL on Tuesday, alleging his employment contract was not renewed this year because he repeatedly pressed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about hiring practices and diversity measures, according to a filing that claims Bills owner Terry Pegula and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made disparaging comments about Black players and shrugged off diversity concerns.
Trotter, whose NFL Network contract was not renewed earlier this year, says he called out the NFL on institutional discrimination throughout multiple levels of the league—a stance he claims resulted in him losing his job.
The lawsuit claims Trotter was not being given work assignments and that his inquiries directed toward the NFL’s diversity measures were questioned by a supervisor.
Trotter said he witnessed “unchecked” discriminatory conduct throughout his time at the NFL’s in-house cable network, alleging Pegula—the billionaire owner of the Bills—said, in response to player protests, “If the Black players don’t like it here, they should go back to Africa and see how bad it is.”
Pegula: sold a natural gas drilling company to Royal Dutch Shell for approximately $4.7 billion in 2017 and the Ohio and West Virginia assets of the company to American Energy Partners, LP for $1.75 billion in 2014
The lawsuit also alleges Jones, the Cowboys’ billionaire owner, said Black people should buy their own team and make their own hires if they “feel some kind of way”—Trotter said he complained about Pegula and Jones’ comments but the NFL did not take action (both owners denied Trotter’s allegations).
Jones: oil and gas exploration business
The reporter accused the league and NFL Network of discrimination and retaliation under federal and state law, and asked for unspecified damages.
The NFL told Forbes on Tuesday it takes Trotter’s concerns seriously but strongly disputes “his specific allegations, particularly those made against his dedicated colleagues at NFL Media,” adding Trotter’s departure was part of business decisions made to “address a challenging economy and a changing media environment.”
Jim Trotter’s lawsuit is a smoking gun for the rampant racism within Roger Goodell’s NFL
The 53-page complaint paints a picture of Goodell’s guilt and gives an account of how meaningless this league’s 'activism' has always been
WWE, UFC Officially Merge to Form TKO Group, New Stock to Start Trading
Endeavor owns 51% of newly created sports and entertainment company, Vince McMahon holds 16.4%
5 WWE directors and 6 Endeavor directors
Vince McMahon: “serve as the Executive Chair of the combined company until his death, resignation or incapacity” despite retiring as chair of WWE last year amid allegations of sexual misconduct
UFC CEO Dana White: “I don't give a sh*t about that kind of stuff. You know what I mean? Even the CEO thing it's a lateral move for me, I run everything that happens here, everything that goes on here, I determine. So, nothing has changed it's just three letters instead of....but I'm the CEO and president of the UFC now, but nothing changes, we're just going to continue to kick a** like we do every single year.”
MATT1
BP CEO Bernard Looney resigns after not being ‘fully transparent’ on prior relationships
U.S.-traded shares of BP closed down 1.3% Tuesday
CEO history
1992 - “Baron” David Simon - joined BP in 1961, first job
1995 - “Lord” John Browne - joined BP in 1966, first job
2007 - Tony Hayward - joined BP in 1982, first job
2010 - Bob Dudley - joined Amoco in 1979, first job, left BP to be CEO of Russian oil, came back in 2009, made CEO for Deepwater cleanup
2020 - Bernard Looney - joined BP in 1991, first job, stayed throughout
From his bio: “He is an advocate for inclusion, mental health and the role that greening companies like bp can play in helping the world get to net zero. He is also an ambassador for 25 x 25, an initiative to improve the gender balance among the leadership of FTSE companies.”
2023 - Murray Auchincloss - joined Amoco prior to 1998, stayed throughout
11% influence on the board prior to becoming interim CEO
Succession plan lead by People and governance committee (Lund, Reynolds, Sawers, Blanc) - a whopping 44% of board influence
This is the group that must have known first that Looney was having sexy time with someone
Succession prediction from past patterns:
Pick someone who started their career at BP, preferably a lifer
UK royal title preferred, not required
Must be white and male unless you’re purposefully doing a glass cliff for two years
PREDICTION: THE NEW AGE GLASS CLIFF CEO
It would SEEM like it would be interim CEO Murray Auchincloss
Already knows the board, already acting CEO, is a lifer, is white, is male, but on the negative is a Canadian citizen who called “wind power the new upstream”
But it’s going to be: Dev Sanyal
Southeast asian male CEO theory - the new glass cliff! - Indian born, British career
32 year career at BP
Currently CEO at VARO Energy, has both “gas” and “low carbon” in his titles
Was on the executive team with almost entire current board, including the entire nomination committee
