BP p.l.c. announced today that Professor Dame Ann Dowling will join the Board as a non-executive director with immediate effect.
Dame Ann is the Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge where she is Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Dame Ann has held visiting posts at MIT and Caltech and has had strong links with industry throughout her career.
BP also said that Sir William Castell has decided not to stand for re-election at the Company’s Annual General Meeting on April 12, 2012. Sir William will have served on the Board of BP for nearly six years. Sir William handed the Chair of the Safety, Ethics & Environment Assurance Committee to Paul Anderson in December 2011.
Andrew Shilston will succeed Sir William as the Senior Independent Director and will be available to shareholders as necessary. He will work closely with Antony Burgmans who, given his length of service on the Board, will respond to any internal board matters.
In addition there are the following changes to Board Committee membership with immediate effect. Andrew Shilston will join and Ian Davis will stand down from the Audit Committee. Dame Ann will join the Safety, Ethics & Environment Assurance Committee. Admiral Skip Bowman will join the Gulf of Mexico Committee.
BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said: “ Bill Castell has given exceptional service to the Board of BP and its shareholders over some six years. He has made a substantial contribution to the Board, not least as Chair of the Safety, Ethics & Environment Assurance Committee. The last two years have been a difficult time for BP. Bill has devoted all the time that was asked of him and more in the service of the Board and the Company. I speak for the whole Board when I thank him sincerely for all he has done. “ I welcome Ann Dowling to the Board. Ann has a strong academic and engineering background and I look forward to her contribution to our discussions .”
BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley said: “ I want to thank Bill on behalf of the management team for all that he has done in supporting us in our work to further embed safety as the number one priority in BP. He has been tireless in that support both in the UK and in the visits which he has made to our sites across the world .”