FORMER GATT director general Mr Peter Sutherland has been elected chairman of British Petroleum (BP), one of the world's largest petroleum and petrochemical companies.
Last month, Mr Sutherland succeeded Sir David Simon as nonexecutive chairman of BP on an interim basis when Sir David was appointed as a minister in Mr Blair's Government. Yesterday, the board announced that Mr Sutherland's had agreed to serve as chairman in a nonexecutive capacity.
Mr John Browne, BP Group chief executive, said the board and executive were delighted to have Mr Sutherland's services "with his depth of experience and international reputation".
Mr Sutherland, who is also a former EU Commissioner, is currently chairman and managing director of Goldman Sachs International, the London based subsidiary of the US investment bank.
He said yesterday that he would be reviewing his other activities to ensure that he has adequate time to meet his new responsibilities at BP as well as carrying out his existing role as chairman of Goldman Sachs.
Mr Sutherland is a director of Allied Irish Banks and a member of the board of directors of the European Institute in Washington.
Mr Sutherland's associations with BP go back several years, originally joining the BP board in 1990. BP employs 53,000 people and its profits were £2.6 billion sterling last year.
