BP CEO says Carl-Henric Svanberg will be a worthy successor as he takes over the role of Chairman from Peter Sutherland.

BP has announced the appointment of Ericsson Chief Executive Officer, Carl-Henric Svanberg, to succeed Peter Sutherland as Chairman of BP.

The telecommunications CEO is also a non-executive director of Melker Schörling AB and is a much respected business leader. Mr Svanberg is an advocate for many corporate social responsibility issues, including human rights, climate change and the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals – an example of which was recently reported by ICM. Ericsson, in conjunction with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) is leading the way in an African initiative, which aims to boost the volume of climate data in order to help Africans plan for the future, especially with regards to farming.
 
BP Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, said Mr Sutherland will be a hard act to follow: “He has been an outstanding Chairman, guiding the company through one of the most successful periods in its history.

“But I am sure Carl-Henric will be a worthy successor. Our shared views on many aspects of global business give me great confidence that we will work very effectively together on the next phase of BP’s progress.” 

Mr Svanberg said of his appointment: “BP is a recognised world-leader in the energy sector and it’s a great privilege to be invited to lead its board.”

Mr Svanberg will initially join the BP board as Chairman-Designate and a Non-Executive Director on 1 September 2009, finally superseding Peter Sutherland as Chairman of BP on 1 January 2010.

On the back of the BP appointment, Ericsson has announced that existing Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Hans Vestberg, will replace Mr Svanberg as President and CEO of the company on 1 January 2010.