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BP’s appointment of Meg O’Neill as CEO isn’t just another leadership change—it’s the company’s last, best chance to rebuild from the inside out.
I should know. I stayed two years too long at BP. Not because I didn’t love the people—they are some of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever worked with—but because the culture, for all its commercial prowess, was not built for the kind of sustained change it desperately needed. It was a place of immense talent hamstrung by its own complexity. Eleven years ago, I left to build something new.
Meg, on the other hand, has runway. She arrives at a moment of profound crisis and, therefore, profound opportunity. She is a builder, a fighter, and a leader with the grit to turn BP’s chaos into a catalyst. Schooled in the unforgiving discipline of Exxon and celebrated for transforming Woodside into a global player, she knows what it takes to grow something meaningful. She’s famously fueled by Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5”—a testament to her philosophy of rolling up her sleeves and getting to work.
That work ethic will be essential. BP’s culture has been through the wringer.
Decades of growth through acquisition created a fractured federation of businesses, not a unified whole. This led to a history marred by safety scandals born from inconsistent operating discipline, and a constant churn of leadership that has left its workforce disillusioned. The company’s botched, on-again, off-again pivot to renewables wasn’t just a strategic failure; it was a symptom of a deeper identity crisis.
But builders thrive in chaos. They see rubble and envision a foundation.
Meg’s challenge isn’t just about rewriting strategy; it’s about rewiring the culture. Her first task is to dismantle the bureaucracy that rewards analysis over action. BP is famous for its intellectual rigor, but this has often devolved into a consensus machine that grinds bold ideas into safe, mediocre compromises. Meg’s outsider status gives her the authority to break that cycle, to empower her teams to take calculated risks, and to hold them accountable for results, not just reports.
Next, she must restore a sense of purpose.
For too long, BP has been caught between apologizing for its past and over-promising its future. It needs a leader who can state, unapologetically, that its purpose is to deliver energy to the world—safely and profitably. This isn’t about abandoning the future; it’s about funding it. A profitable, well-run BP can be a true leader in the energy systems of tomorrow. Look at peers like Oxy, which leveraged its core business to innovate its way from the brink of collapse to the forefront of new carbon technology. That is grit. That is what building looks like.
My time at BP taught me something about my career path.
My archetype is catalyst/architect (get yours here). I like to create change. I spent nearly 20 years in corporate as an "intrapreneur" and that taught me the value of architecting systems.
As a former leader with a small pension tied to this company's future, I’m hopeful for the first time in a long time. They’ve hired a builder, not another bureaucrat. If BP’s board gives Meg the tools, trust, and autonomy she needs, she won’t just steady the ship—she’ll make it stronger. Here’s to a new chapter.
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