This time last year Murray Auchincloss appeared to have little ambition to ever be chief executive of Britain’s most storied oil company. The Canadian former tax analyst had carved out a highly successful, quiet career inside BP, but as finance chief he was destined to be the numbers guy keeping his more flamboyant boss in check.
Then in September that boss, Bernard Looney, resigned after failing to disclose to the board past romantic relationships with BP colleagues. The scandal thrust Auchincloss into the spotlight. Such was the abruptness of Looney’s departure, just days after BP had received a second set of allegations about its boss, that Auchincloss had only 20 minutes’ notice before taking over as interim chief executive, he has told friends.
This week, after a four-month process that some investors say took too long, he was confirmed in the role permanently, and takes up one of the highest profile, most challenging, most unrelenting jobs in British business.