Oil Giant Faces Future
The oil giant has to face the future without Peter Sutherland , its Irish chairman, but what next will prove a big enough lure to a person who has already been in charge of the world trade organization?
Peter Sutherland was not in a great mood on Monday morning: the day after Ireland’s loss to Argentina in the Rugby World Cup, he could scarcely refrain from showing his annoyance. He’d been at the game at Parc des Princes with his children and words such as “suicidal” and “bejesus” poured from his lips.
Barely a few hours previous, he was on the Eurostar, travelling back to Paris, for a meeting that was a fusion of not only business but politics also. Such are the opposing worlds of Sutherland: Dubliner, father of three, rugby fanatic, chairman of BP, chairman of Goldman Sachs International, new chairman of the London School of Economics, diplomatic fixer and afterdinner speaker extraordinaire.
If when we reach the gates of heaven we are presented with a choice I’d wish to come back as a smart Irishman. Previously, I might have said an English aristocrat but it’s the Irish who are in charge these days. They seem to be in control of everything. The epitome of this is Sutherland, a key figure in two business powerhouses and a millionaire many times over, thanks to his partnership at Goldman. But he’s served for a decade at BP and has begun the search for a successor. Suddenly, the oil giant needs to accept the reality of life without him .
It’s very easy to establish through talking to anyone at BP, these past few years to realise what a force behind the scenes Sutherland has been. While the company has had its problems in America, they have been operational. On personnel matters, notably the attempt by Lord Browne and his friends to get the chief executive’s term extended, and then Browne’s departure following his lying under oath, Sutherland has played a pivotal role. His contribution in bringing BP forward is something which few can dispute.
