Meg O'Neill

When Meg O’Neill took over as CEO of BP on April 1, she became the first woman to lead any of the world's five largest oil companies and the first outside chief executive in BP's more than century-long history. On Day 1, she pledged “clear direction and consistency.” BP’s leadership ranks need a steady presence—the company had lost two CEOs and its chair in a five-year span—as does its core business, which is trying to regain its footing after a calamitous renewables push. Last year, BP posted $7.5 billion in underlying profit, down from $8.9 billion the prior year, and the board suspended share buybacks while accelerating an $11 billion divestment program that includes the sale of a 65% stake in Castrol. O’Neill’s mandate is to restore credibility and financial discipline: the company has raised its structural cost-reduction target to as much as $6.5 billion by the end of 2027 and is pivoting decisively back toward oil and gas. O’Neill gained a reputation for operational rigor in her previous role as CEO of Australian LNG giant Woodside Energy, where she approved a $12 billion LNG development at Scarborough, acquired BHP's petroleum business, and expanded Woodside's U.S. business with a $17.5 billion Louisiana LNG terminal. O’Neill, an American, assumed the BP CEO role during another moment of tumult, this time for reasons outside the company’s control. The Iran war is boosting oil prices—a boon for BP—but disrupted transport routes and broader instability may challenge O’Neill’s plan to be a stabilizing force.