BP picks interim CFO

UK-headquartered energy giant BP has appointed an interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), after moving its previous CFO to the interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) role.

Following the resignation of Bernard Looney from the CEO role, BP appointed Murray Auchincloss as its interim CEO. The company has now selected Kate Thomson, a qualified chartered accountant, for the interim CFO role to fill in the gap left by Auchincloss’ move from the CFO to the interim CEO position.

Thomson, who has been with BP for 19 years, currently acts as BP’s Senior Vice President, finance for production & operations, responsible for the financial stewardship of and commercial partnering with the business globally. Previously, she held a number of senior financial roles, including group treasurer and head of group tax.

“Kate’s experience and skills make her ideally suited to take on the role of interim CFO. She brings deep technical knowledge together with a detailed understanding of BP, and has a first-class track record of leadership across our finance function. I look forward to working alongside her as we continue to deliver BP’s strategy,” said Auchincloss.

Before joining BP in 2004, Thomson worked in professional services firms including with Ernst & Young in M&A tax and as group head of tax for Charter. She has been a member of the board of Aker BP for the past seven years and also serves on the boards of a number of BP Group companies.

BP is actively working on building up its hydrocarbon portfolio alongside its decarbonization and green transition plans. To this end, the energy giant handed out a new contract and extension to Valaris for a drillship and a jack-up rig, which will carry out drilling operations in Brazil and Indonesia, respectively.