BP taps Ericsson boss as its next chair
June 26, 2009
By Tom Bergin London
Ericsson chief executive Carl-Henric Svanberg is stepping down to become chairman of BP, in a surprise appointment that ends the oil major's lengthy search for a new chairman.
Ericsson said yesterday that his successor at the Nordic telecoms equipment maker would be chief financial officer Hans Vestberg. Analysts welcomed the move, saying it was unlikely to lead to major strategic changes.
BP chief executive Tony Hayward said Europe's second-largest oil firm would benefit from Svanberg's experience in emerging markets and in dealing with governments as it shifted the focus of its refining and marketing business to Asia.
"The challenge is how to reposition the capital employed from the mature markets into the immature, growing markets, (which) the telecoms industry has managed to do very successfully," he said.
Svanberg will take over next January from Peter Sutherland in what will be his first oil industry role. He has been chief executive at Ericsson since 2003 and will remain on the Ericsson board.
His tenure had been largely successful, analysts said, but his position had been in doubt since a 2007 profit warning hit investor confidence.
"(His departure) has been pretty much rumoured for the past year and a half, since the 2007 profit warning," said Exane BNP Paribas analyst Alexander Peterc. "Hans Vestberg has proven himself a sensible chief financial officer."
One dealer said: "Many investors said they would never look at Ericsson until there was management change."
But several analysts said they did not expect a major strategy shift at the company.
Ericsson fell 0.9 percent and BP was unchanged in morning trade yesterday. - Reuters
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