New chairman for BP

BP, Britain's largest company by market value, has ended its lengthy search for a new chairman today with the appointment of Ericsson chief executive Carl-Henric Svanberg.  The search to fill one of the CityÔÇÖs most prestigious posts began almost two years ago, with current chairman Peter Sutherland expecting to have stood down late last year or earlier this year.  Fifty-seven year-old Svanberg will join the BP board this September after seven years at Ericsson and is expected to take over from Sutherland on 1 January 2010. He will be based in London and devote the majority of his time to BP business. Chief executive of Ericsson, and chairman of its joint venture Sony Ericsson, Svanberg is widely credited with having turned around the fortunes of Swedish telecommunications company, though some analysts have suggested there was increasing dissatisfaction with management among the companyÔÇÖs shareholders. Paul Skinner, ex-chairman of mining firm Rio Tinto, was initially the favourite for the role but withdrew following investor unease over a proposed deal between Rio Tinto and Chinese aluminium group Chinalco.  Skinner recently stood down from Rio, but did not take up the post at BP. The unease following the debacle meant that BP was forced to consider candidates without oil industry experience.  BP chief executive Tony Hayward described Svanberg as a businessman of international stature and a worthy successor to Sutherland, who has served as BP's chairman since 1997.  It is a challenging time for a new chairman. BP is currently looking to expand into China and India; meanwhile, its shares have fallen 17 per cent over the past year.  Commenting on his appointment, Svanberg said: ÔÇ£BP is a recognised world leader in the energy sector and itÔÇÖs a great privilege to be invited to lead its board. Following such a distinguished predecessor is quite a challenge but IÔÇÖm hugely excited about joining the energy industry which is so much at the heart of the global economy.ÔÇØ  Ericsson has confirmed that Svanberg will remain on its board of directors and that it will be replacing him with its current chief financial officer Hans Vestberg. *┬á┬á ┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á ┬á *