BP has been plunged into a governance crisis after abruptly removing chair Albert Manifold over allegations that his forceful leadership crossed the line into bullying. The dispute has exposed deep tensions inside the oil major just as it attempts a strategic turnaround.

The trouble built over months as senior colleagues complained that Manifold’s “hands-on” approach was experienced as aggressive, leading to formal claims of bullying and ultimately his ouster: “BP removes chair Albert Manifold after claims of bullying”.¹ Internally, concerns ranged from his day‑to‑day behaviour to his use of personal devices, issues that fed directly into the board’s decision and “piled pressure on CEO Meg O’Neill”.²

In the weeks before his removal, tensions reportedly peaked when the “ousted BP chair Albert Manifold clashed with company secretary before removal,” an episode after which company secretary Ben Mathews took time off work.³ The unfolding scandal quickly became the defining test of O’Neill’s leadership, with profiles casting her as “the no-nonsense CEO steering BP through crisis” amid the turmoil.⁴

Manifold has vigorously rejected the characterisation of his behaviour, insisting that he merely drove the business hard. In his first detailed pushback, “ousted BP chair hits out at ‘lies’ over his conduct,” saying he “pushed hard” at the FTSE oil group but disputed the criticism of his behaviour.⁵

Shareholders, meanwhile, have offered a more mixed but still critical perspective. Some large investors said that “several BP shareholders found ousted chair ‘challenging’,” pointing to difficulties arranging meetings and what they saw as an overly dominant style.⁶ Commentators have gone further, arguing that “BP should never have made Manifold chair,” describing the board’s choice as “an unwise gamble on a dominant executive” that has now backfired.⁷

As the boardroom fallout continues, the episode is becoming a broader test of BP’s culture, its oversight of powerful leaders, and its ability to maintain stability while pushing through a high-stakes corporate overhaul.