BP Turns to Blanc Again as Chair Search Restarts

The decision, confirmed by the company on 2 June 2026, means Blanc will oversee a process that mirrors one she completed only recently, a search that produced a chair whose tenure proved remarkably short. For a FTSE 100 company already under pressure over strategy, capital returns, and the energy transition, the governance turbulence is unwelcome.

Why BP is turning to Blanc again

Blanc is the senior independent director (SID) at BP, a role that, under the UK Corporate Governance Code, carries explicit responsibility for orderly board succession. When the previous chair search was conducted, it was Blanc who led it, ultimately recommending Albert Manifold, the former chief executive of building materials group CRH, for the role.

Manifold's appointment was regarded at the time as a credible choice. He brought FTSE 100 leadership experience and a reputation for operational discipline. Yet his stint as BP chair ended abruptly last week, as first reported by the Guardian, catching investors and analysts off guard.

With Manifold gone, BP's board concluded that Blanc was the natural candidate to run the replacement search. According to the company, the board "unanimously" backed her reappointment to the role. No external figure or additional non-executive director was proposed as an alternative lead, a point that has not gone unnoticed among institutional holders.

Blanc is also the group chief executive of Aviva (LSE: AV.), one of the UK's largest insurers. Her dual prominence in British corporate life gives her significant standing, but it also concentrates governance responsibility in a single individual at a moment when BP can ill afford further missteps.

Shareholder concerns and the governance gap

Some BP shareholders have voiced reservations about Blanc reprising the role, according to the Guardian's reporting. Their concern is straightforward: the last search she oversaw produced a chair who left quickly. Asking her to do it again, without apparent scrutiny of why the first process failed, risks compounding the problem.

The UK Corporate Governance Code, published by the Financial Reporting Council, states that boards should maintain "rigorous and transparent" procedures for appointing new directors, with particular attention to the chair role. Provision 10 notes that the SID should lead the process when a new chair is needed, but the code also emphasises that boards should evaluate the effectiveness of their own processes, including succession planning.

Proxy advisory firms have historically flagged repeat governance failures at large listed companies. While no public commentary from ISS or Glass Lewis on the Blanc reappointment had emerged at the time of writing, the pattern, a short-lived chair followed by a recycled search process, is the kind of sequence that tends to attract scrutiny ahead of annual general meetings.

BP's shares have been under pressure for some time amid broader questions about the company's strategic direction under chief executive Murray Auchincloss. The added uncertainty over board leadership does little to reassure investors seeking stability.

What the Manifold episode revealed

The speed of Manifold's departure raises questions that BP has not yet fully addressed. The company has not disclosed detailed reasons for his exit, beyond confirming it last week. Whether the departure stemmed from strategic disagreements with management, personal factors, or friction within the board itself remains unclear.

What is clear is that the episode exposed a thin succession pipeline at the top of BP's governance structure. When a FTSE 100 chair departs at short notice, a well-governed board should have contingency options, whether that means an identified deputy, a pre-vetted shortlist, or at minimum a documented process that does not default to the same individual who ran the prior search.

Average chair tenure across the FTSE 100 sits at roughly five to six years, according to data from Spencer Stuart's UK Board Index. Departures within the first year are rare and, when they occur, tend to signal a fundamental mismatch between the appointee and the board's needs. The fact that Manifold's tenure was measured in months rather than years suggests the original selection process may not have stress-tested the appointment thoroughly enough.

For Blanc, the reputational stakes are high. A second search that produces a durable, effective chair would vindicate the board's confidence in her. A second misfire would raise serious questions about the SID role itself and whether BP's non-executive bench has the depth to govern a company of its scale.

The broader board composition question

BP's board currently comprises a mix of energy, finance, and technology backgrounds, but the Manifold episode highlights a structural vulnerability common among large UK-listed companies: an over-reliance on a small number of senior non-executives to manage critical governance functions. When one process fails, the lack of alternatives becomes immediately visible.

Lessons for UK boardrooms

BP's situation carries relevance well beyond the oil sector. For directors and founders at smaller UK companies, the episode illustrates several governance principles worth noting.

First, succession planning for the chair role is not a one-off exercise. The UK Corporate Governance Code treats it as a continuous obligation, and boards that treat it as a periodic event risk being caught without options when circumstances change.

Second, the SID role carries more weight than many boards acknowledge. In a crisis, the SID becomes the de facto leader of governance continuity. Companies that appoint SIDs without considering whether they could credibly manage a chair search, or a second one, may find themselves in BP's position.

Third, transparency matters. BP's limited disclosure around Manifold's departure has left a vacuum that shareholders and commentators have filled with speculation. A more forthcoming account of what went wrong, and what the board intends to do differently this time, would go some way towards restoring confidence.

Finally, the episode is a reminder that governance failures at the top of a company are rarely contained. They ripple through investor relations, management morale, and strategic execution. BP's next chair will inherit not only the company's operational challenges but also the task of rebuilding trust in the board itself.

Blanc now faces a search that will be watched more closely than the last. The outcome will say as much about the state of non-executive talent in UK corporate life as it does about BP.