Carl-Henric Svanberg, the current chairman of British oil giant, BP has informed the company’s board of directors of his intention to retire as chairman.
Mr Svanberg will chair the annual general meeting to be held in May 2018 and will remain in position until a successor is in post.
Ian Davis, the BP board’s senior independent director, will now lead the process to identify and appoint BP’s next chairman.
Mr Svanberg joined the BP board on 1 September 2009 and became chairman on 1 January 2010.
Mr Svanberg said: “It has been a tremendous privilege to lead the BP board over the past eight years. I am proud of the achievements of the management and the company in that time. The first couple of years were incredibly challenging for us all as we navigated an unusually complex corporate crisis. Through that turbulent period we stayed focused on saving and restoring the company. Today I can say with confidence that BP is back and ready for the future. Our chief executive, Bob Dudley, is the one who, with his team, deserves credit and I am pleased that whoever is fortunate enough to succeed me as chairman will have the opportunity to work with him and his impressive management group. Until then, I look forward to continuing to serve BP and our shareholders.”
Mr Dudley, BP group chief executive, said: “BP’s comeback would not have been possible without the strong leadership and steadfast support of Carl-Henric and the board. Together we were able to honour our commitments to the Gulf while rebuilding BP into a safer, stronger company. We devised a strategy to weather the downturn in the oil market while returning to growth. And we committed to playing a leading role in the energy transition while delivering oil and gas more efficiently. Carl-Henric’s wise counsel and good humour will be sorely missed.”
Mr. Carl-Henric Svanberg served as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Ericsson Inc. Mr. Svanberg served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Ericsson S.P.A. since April 8, 2003 until December 31, 2009.
He served as Chief Executive Officer and President at Oceus Networks Inc. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) from April 8, 2003 to January 1, 2010. He joined Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) on April 8, 2003. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Ericsson NV/SA. He served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of ASSA ABLOY AB from 1994 to March 2003.
From 1986 to 1994, Mr. Svanberg served as Deputy President of Securitas AB. Since 1990, he served as First Executive Vice President and Deputy President for Securitas Group, with responsibility for alarm solutions and locks. He served as in various posts in ABB Group from 1977 to 1985. From 1977 to 1985, he held various foreign assignments within project exports for Asea Brown Boveri. Mr. Svanberg has been the Chairman of the Board of AB Volvo (publ) since April 04, 2012.
He has been the Chairman of the Board at BP p.l.c. and Puma Energy Zambia PLC since January 1, 2010 and its Director since September 1, 2009. He served as the Chairman of the Board for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB until October 15, 2009. He served as the Chairman of the Board at ST-Ericsson NV and Sony Mobile Communications AB. He served as Chairman of BP Norge AS since January 1, 2010. He served as Vice Chairman of Assa Abloy AB. He has been a Director of Ericsson S.P.A., Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Ericsson Inc., Ericsson Telecomunicações S.A. and Ericsson NV/SA since April 2003. He serves as Director at Sony Mobile Communications AB. He has been a Member of the External Advisory Board at Columbia University Earth Institute since 2009. He served as a Director of BP Norge AS since September 1, 2009. He has been a Director of Melker Schörling AB since May 23, 2017.
He served as a Director of Melker Schörling AB since 2006. He served as a Director of VSM Group AB since 1998. He served as a Director of Hexagon AB since 1999 and Assa Abloy AB since 1994. Mr. Svanberg serves on the boards of the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and the University of Uppsala. He is a Member of the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development.
He is the recipient of the King of Sweden’s medal for his contribution to Swedish industry. He graduated from Sweden’s Institute of Technology at Linköping University with a Master of Science in Engineering and also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Uppsala University. In addition to this, he holds honorary doctorates at Luleå University of Technology and Linköping University in Sweden.
