"There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I would love my life back."
Well it it IS over for beleagured BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward and he will have his life back because he'll be leaving his post in October. He'll be replaced by Bob Dudley, another BP executive who is also American.
The 53 year old BP "lifer" hasn't had the best of times of late - apart from the leak at the Deepwater Horizon rig causing a monumental environmental disaster- there were the gaffes - the yachting race when the oil was still pouring into the sea for example (see pic) and this quote from an interview with the Guardian.. The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.
He's now about to fall on his sword - or be pushed out - depending on your view.
So is that an end to the matter ? Have BP and Tony Hayward done the right and decent thing ? Or should he have stayed to clean up the mess he presided over ?
hudsonette in New York thinks so, tweeting: Why are they letting Tony Hayward leave? They should put him to work cleaning up the mess he made-scrubbing birds, picking up tarballs.
According to James Herron at Dow Jones, analysts think sacrificing Hayward and choosing Dudley means BP's top priority is restoring the company's reputation in the US.
But activists from campaign group Greenpeace have shut down BP petrol stations in London because they want the company to be more environmentally responsible. Executive director John Sauven says:
We've shut down all of BP's stations in London to give the new boss a chance to come up with a better plan. They're desperate for us to believe they're going 'beyond petroleum'. Well now's the time to prove it.
And writing in Dallas Jacquielynn Floyd thinks:
we have more important work to do than smirk over Hayward's pending dismissal. We need to make sure that our regulatory apparatus is awake and functioning and that the oil industry can prove it's prepared to deal with disaster before the fact, not three months after.
Does BP need to make more radical changes or is replacing its chief executive enough?
Stephen Brako: The sacking of the CEO will not solve the problem but the authorities should look into the matter well. The damage caused is irreplacable.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:56
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Abdelilah Boukili: Placing the whole responsibility on BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward is unfair as the operations of BP resides with its whole managements and its branches. The fact that Henry Hayward accepts to step down is just a step for BP to put its hou...
Comment sent via Facebook
18:55
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Robert Macala: Playing the blame game is as old as the Bible...perhaps older...
Tony walks away rich and contented...without the hassle of taking any more blame...with his pay package, he's not crying...there is always this sailing hobby...
Comment sent via Twitter
18:54
114422685
@大象传媒_WHYS if it is one objective to demagogue the issue and obscure the true.nature of war or revel classified documents then wikileaks wins
Comment sent via Facebook
18:54
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Peter SoonChing Liu: Americans are prone to hysteria and the outcome is always tragic.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:54
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Justus Rubarema: The CEO's sacking is appropriate. The oil spill was a result of a bigger cause. Why keep him?
Comment sent via Facebook
18:53
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Mrinal Das: I don't know whether the oil spill has done any irrepairable damage to BP or not, but certainely it has to the local ecosystem....
Comment sent via Facebook
18:52
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Kevin Mwarari: I SIMPLY DONT CARE WHO THE CEO IS AS LONG AS THE RUNNING OF THE COMPANY IS DOESNT AFFECT ME AS A CONSUMER.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:52
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Kiel Burgey: it would only be reasonable to sack the CEO if he ordered the oil to spill but he wasnt there!! sacking him will not reverse the environmental damage caused the oil. Worse still, his name was not mentioned regularly during the spill compared to BP. I will always know dat BP caused environmental damage and I will rarely think of the sacked ceo. It is not a wise decision at all.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:51
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Harmony Kwezi: Im sure he would have resigned anyway. This is a huge corporation. So pressure is from all corners, some of it we ordinary people cant comprehend. Alot goes on behind closed doors. But as usual america has too come as the winner, as the only superpower. Remind me of any bp ceo who has not been from Uk.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:50
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Michael Oyaro: The damage done is already big, especially to markets sensitive to environmental conservation.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:49
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Dee Kieft: Tony Hayward should not be villified, BP caused the oil spill. I agree he could have done things better, but I wonder how other corporate leaders would have reacted in the situation. Plus, he is an employee of a British company under British employment law and any pensions and severance packages have to be respected. From a PR point of view, bringing an American in will help improve relations. Exxon recovered & so will BP.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:48
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Mwex Eleeshebor: Question is his removal as CEO and replacement by Dudley going 2 solve da problem?
Comment sent via Facebook
18:46
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Alexander Kamara: I am not sure weather to call the damage on BP's image as irreparable. However, I think the problem and its effect would linger long after the departure of Mr. Hayward as he was only part of the problem.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:45
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Roger Patterson: its not bps fault , an american company run that rig , bp is obahmas scape goat
Comment sent via Facebook
18:45
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Christina Schwab: Well he gets to go back to his life again
Comment sent via Twitter
18:44
114343670
@大象传媒_WHYS You can't justify BP's inadequacies by pointing out inadequacies in other organizations. What happened to doing what's right?
Comment sent via Facebook
18:44
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Gohar Sajid Syed: Too little done too late n like everything else happening around, the ppl who screw up the most get paid the most... What has the world come too... Weird n strange...
Comment sent via Facebook
18:44
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Dun Birekyeraho: I will miss the show. Not complaining though because I imagine you have a serious reason.
Has BP done the right thing?
| Tuesday, 7 July 2010 | 18:05 - 19:00 GMT
"There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I would love my life back."
Well it it IS over for beleagured BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward and he will have his life back because he'll be leaving his post in October. He'll be replaced by Bob Dudley, another BP executive who is also American.
The 53 year old BP "lifer" hasn't had the best of times of late - apart from the leak at the Deepwater Horizon rig causing a monumental environmental disaster- there were the gaffes - the yachting race when the oil was still pouring into the sea for example (see pic) and this quote from an interview with the Guardian..
The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.
He's now about to fall on his sword - or be pushed out - depending on your view.
So is that an end to the matter ? Have BP and Tony Hayward done the right and decent thing ? Or should he have stayed to clean up the mess he presided over ?
hudsonette in New York thinks so, tweeting: Why are they letting Tony Hayward leave? They should put him to work cleaning up the mess he made-scrubbing birds, picking up tarballs.
According to James Herron at Dow Jones, analysts think sacrificing Hayward and choosing Dudley means BP's top priority is restoring the company's reputation in the US.
But activists from campaign group Greenpeace have shut down BP petrol stations in London because they want the company to be more environmentally responsible. Executive director John Sauven says:
We've shut down all of BP's stations in London to give the new boss a chance to come up with a better plan. They're desperate for us to believe they're going 'beyond petroleum'. Well now's the time to prove it.
And writing in Dallas Jacquielynn Floyd thinks:
we have more important work to do than smirk over Hayward's pending dismissal. We need to make sure that our regulatory apparatus is awake and functioning and that the oil industry can prove it's prepared to deal with disaster before the fact, not three months after.
Does BP need to make more radical changes or is replacing its chief executive enough?
Your comments
Comment sent via Twitter
@bbc_whys live on air at 1800 BST
Comment sent via Facebook
Stephen Brako: The sacking of the CEO will not solve the problem but the authorities should look into the matter well. The damage caused is irreplacable.
Comment sent via Facebook
Abdelilah Boukili: Placing the whole responsibility on BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward is unfair as the operations of BP resides with its whole managements and its branches. The fact that Henry Hayward accepts to step down is just a step for BP to put its hou...
Comment sent via Facebook
Robert Macala: Playing the blame game is as old as the Bible...perhaps older... Tony walks away rich and contented...without the hassle of taking any more blame...with his pay package, he's not crying...there is always this sailing hobby...
Comment sent via Twitter
@大象传媒_WHYS if it is one objective to demagogue the issue and obscure the true.nature of war or revel classified documents then wikileaks wins
Comment sent via Facebook
Peter SoonChing Liu: Americans are prone to hysteria and the outcome is always tragic.
Comment sent via Facebook
Justus Rubarema: The CEO's sacking is appropriate. The oil spill was a result of a bigger cause. Why keep him?
Comment sent via Facebook
Mrinal Das: I don't know whether the oil spill has done any irrepairable damage to BP or not, but certainely it has to the local ecosystem....
Comment sent via Facebook
Kevin Mwarari: I SIMPLY DONT CARE WHO THE CEO IS AS LONG AS THE RUNNING OF THE COMPANY IS DOESNT AFFECT ME AS A CONSUMER.
Comment sent via Facebook
Kiel Burgey: it would only be reasonable to sack the CEO if he ordered the oil to spill but he wasnt there!! sacking him will not reverse the environmental damage caused the oil. Worse still, his name was not mentioned regularly during the spill compared to BP. I will always know dat BP caused environmental damage and I will rarely think of the sacked ceo. It is not a wise decision at all.
Comment sent via Facebook
Harmony Kwezi: Im sure he would have resigned anyway. This is a huge corporation. So pressure is from all corners, some of it we ordinary people cant comprehend. Alot goes on behind closed doors. But as usual america has too come as the winner, as the only superpower. Remind me of any bp ceo who has not been from Uk.
Comment sent via Facebook
Michael Oyaro: The damage done is already big, especially to markets sensitive to environmental conservation.
Comment sent via Facebook
Dee Kieft: Tony Hayward should not be villified, BP caused the oil spill. I agree he could have done things better, but I wonder how other corporate leaders would have reacted in the situation. Plus, he is an employee of a British company under British employment law and any pensions and severance packages have to be respected. From a PR point of view, bringing an American in will help improve relations. Exxon recovered & so will BP.
Comment sent via Facebook
Mwex Eleeshebor: Question is his removal as CEO and replacement by Dudley going 2 solve da problem?
Comment sent via Facebook
Alexander Kamara: I am not sure weather to call the damage on BP's image as irreparable. However, I think the problem and its effect would linger long after the departure of Mr. Hayward as he was only part of the problem.
Comment sent via Facebook
Roger Patterson: its not bps fault , an american company run that rig , bp is obahmas scape goat
Comment sent via Facebook
Christina Schwab: Well he gets to go back to his life again
Comment sent via Twitter
@大象传媒_WHYS You can't justify BP's inadequacies by pointing out inadequacies in other organizations. What happened to doing what's right?
Comment sent via Facebook
Gohar Sajid Syed: Too little done too late n like everything else happening around, the ppl who screw up the most get paid the most... What has the world come too... Weird n strange...
Comment sent via Facebook
Dun Birekyeraho: I will miss the show. Not complaining though because I imagine you have a serious reason.