Ousted BP CEO Tony Hayward: I Was 'Demonized' In The U.S.

BP CEO Tony Hayward, who announced yesterday that he will step down from his post in October, made some potentially damaging comments to the British press in reaction to his departure.

The U.K.'s Guardian reports that Hayward feels he's been "demonized" in the U.S. He also commented that he may be "too busy" to make it to hearings on the Gulf Oil spill. (Hayward will walk away with a payout worth $1.6 million and an $11 million pension fund. He'll be replaced by BP exec Bob Dudley.)

Here's more from Guardian:

Explaining his decision to leave the group he has led for three-and-a-half years, Hayward said: "I believe this tragedy will leave BP a different company. I believe for it to move on in the United States it needs new leadership and it is for that reason I have stood down as the CEO. I think BP's response to this tragedy has been a model of good social corporate responsibility. It has mounted an unprecedented response."

On CNBC this morning, BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg defended Hayward's tenure, and framed the departure as an opportunity to start anew. Here's Swanberg:

Tony Hayward has done a great job for the company through his almost 30 years...he's driven the company performance and developed the company in many, many ways. He's also lead an unprecedented response in the Gulf of Mexico. But if became obvious to him and us that in order to rebuild our company, in order to rebuild our brand and reputation, we needed fresh leadership and that's why we needed the change.

Svanberg also dismissed a question about whether or not Hayward was a "sacrificial lamb." "That has not all been the discussions. This has been solely a matter of how has been the best leader for the company going forward," he said.

WATCH CNBC's interview with Svanberg:

Comments

[southingtonian]

11:03 PM on 08/01/2010

'out of the heart the mouth speaks'. You chose the words you spoke. You demonized yourself.

[RightsGuy]

12:10 AM on 07/29/2010

BP and Tony Hayward only care about maintaining their image so they can keep making money. They don’t care about the people their actions and policies have killed.

The human cost of the oil spill and BPs corruption is huge, not only with this oil spill disaster, but with many other losses of life on other BP rigs.

Everyone please take a look at the following tribute by Steve Joynt to the 11 men who died on the Deepwater Horizon, “Oil spill Day 100: The 11 men who died on the Deepwater Horizon”

http://blog.al.com/live/2010/07/oil_spill_day_100_the_11_men_w.html

We can never lose sight of the human cost of BP’s malfeasance.

[therealone]

06:11 PM on 07/28/2010

Are we 'avin a whinge, Tony? Bettah put ya jimjams on then!

[Levi Erik]

01:52 PM on 07/28/2010

This guy makes me sick. All he did was screw things up and cry and complain about his own life and not about the thousands of others in the gulf that he has destroyed.

Full story outlining the 100th day of the oil spill: http://www.bestfunnyblog.com/world-news/gulf-oil-spill-day-100/

[peegan]

10:30 AM on 07/28/2010

Hayward showed a shocking lack of sensitivity to the tragedy that was occurring in the gulf coast. I think he truly failed to see that millions of people were watching their past, present and future being destroyed. His "little people" comment, while in itself was not harmful, signalled a cultural gap and lack of knowledge of the Americans BP had harmed. And to fly of to sail on a multi million dollar yacht in pristine clear waters while the fishing and shrimping boats were docked in the oily waters of the gulf, was the ultimate insensitivity. As I said once before, if he did not know how to feel real compassion, he at least could have asked his wife how to fake it.

[Fleurdamour]

10:17 AM on 07/28/2010

The worst environmental disaster in American history happened on his watch. What did he expect? If he'd put safety before profits, he'd still have a job. He's got no one to blame but himself.

[furby3]

12:13 PM on 07/28/2010

The American government was in charge of enforcing safety. They hadn't inspected some of those rigs in a decade. This blame game can get pretty convoluted, but the bottom line is that we, the consumers, are creating exorbitant demand for the stuff and we don't want to pay the real cost of oil, spill clean-ups and inspection included. We don't want to get on our bikes or walk to the corner store. We don't want to take a bus to work, we don't want to reduce our consumption in any way. But we do want to point the finger everywhere but at ourselves.

[reading2009]

01:25 AM on 07/29/2010

so because no one was watching it's ok for BP to cut major corners? come on. Sure the regulators should have been watching closer, but for a $500,000 back up system BP and the gulf wouldn't have gotten in this mess.

[WillieBlack]

08:51 AM on 07/28/2010

Justice for Warren Anderson.

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/justice-for-warren-anderson/

[wittyprof]

08:32 AM on 07/28/2010

If he had the slightest amount of decency he should donate his $12.6 million walkaway package to BP's victims, especially the families of the 11 people who died in the explosion and the tens of thousands of people whose livelihoods have been threatened by his and his company's greed.

I would, of course, give this scenario the same odds as Paris Hilton earning a Ph.D. or Dick Cheney becoming a Greenpeace volunteer...

[WillieBlack]

08:41 AM on 07/28/2010

You should probably change your username.

[missgramma2005]

08:18 AM on 07/28/2010

Don't let the door hit you in the back on your way out Tony!

How about BP giving a bonus to those who've lost so much because of BP's greed $$$ profits over safety in the ball park of Tony's going away present?

[missgramma2005]

08:38 AM on 07/28/2010

............and how about a couple of billion for the harmed animals? They matter greatly.

[Left on Red]

08:18 AM on 07/28/2010

"Too busy to testify" What Tony, packing for Siberia?

He should be charged with contempt, along with homicide, violations of the clean water act, OSHA violations, etc.

[wikwox]

07:09 AM on 07/28/2010

Demonized? He should have been Euthanized!

[knellerman]

03:55 AM on 07/28/2010

Reading the many ill-informed and stupid posts on this board, it becomes easy to understand why the US has been demonised by the rest of the world.

Arrogant, hypocritical and self-centred.

Never mind, you can just bomb and kill another couple of hundred innocent Afghanistan civilians to make yourselves feel all big and powerful again.

Or illegaly invade another country and cause the death of 500,000 civilians.

I makes me laugh that the majority of US citizens still believe that the invasion of Iraq was to do with AL-quada.

And that 57pc of US citizens believe they have been abducted by aliens.

...the gods first make mad those they wish to destroy.

[Sarcastic Jack]

06:39 AM on 07/28/2010

"I makes me laugh that the majority of US citizens still believe that the invasion of Iraq was to do with AL-quada"

I don't

"And that 57pc of US citizens believe they have been abducted by aliens"

Source?

[missgramma2005]

08:24 AM on 07/28/2010

Americans have been propogandized by our government (see Capitalism a Love Story) just as all governments do...hopefully and prayerfully I ask Dog to remove the scales from the eyes of the sheeple.

The Socialism of Jesus Christ, Ghandi, Three Musketeers, Einstein, Senator Bernie Sanders is the answer.

"One for all and all for one!"

[veggiequeenmo]

06:42 AM on 07/28/2010

I agree that many, if not most, Americans are arrogant, hypocritical and self-centered and let us not forget greedy. Funny how that is in a nation that considers itself "Christian". (Enter the 7 deadly sins.)

Personally, I've been against these wars from the beginning for those very reasons. Quite frankly, I feel the same for missionaries who push their religion thru bribes and fear.

As an American taxpayer, I'm loathe to see my money used for destruction.

I know that Bush started the current mess because of oil interests and so do many, many others.

The 57% thing? Don't know where that's coming from, but considering the repukelican party, I would have to agree!

So you are saying that the gods want to destroy Americans? We're not all loons!

Now, back to the topic of Hayward - YIPPEE KAI AY - MF! And welcome the new boss, who'll in all likelihood, but the same as the old boss. And he's American. What do you have to say about that?

[missgramma2005]

08:41 AM on 07/28/2010

"""""""The 57% thing? Don't know where that's coming from, but considering the repukelican party, I would have to agree!"""""""""

Right on!

[hollybork]

03:36 AM on 07/28/2010

Now I like a rich man who fights back when he is called a demon. Fights hard for his stand in history, for his pristine white hard hat's sake.

Tony Hayward tried hard to get back to his "real" life. He pointed out it was all ado about a few dribs and drabs of oil in a big ocean. Not like flippin Bhopal, or the spoiled Amazon for crimeny sakes. But between all those hearings, press briefings, commercials he shot, it was tough tough to get back to his yacht. With all those gulf distractions, who could even consentrate on t he blackberry messages from well wishers in Gstaad, Aspen, Davros? With all the squawking birds and the hungry baby turtles eating oil clods, the camped out shrimpers with their meandering complaints and their teary eyed workhouse wives, snot nosed children! Cripes!

They all are focusing their attention on ruining Tony's day. They're all making him out to be the bad guy. It was a veritable lynching mob of tunafish, oil riggers, oyster shuckers and other riff raff, the rural rube's choir of criticism, all directed against this one blameless, noble scottish yachtsman. He just wanted to run the 6th largest corporation in the world in quiet dignity and refined peacefulness. So unfair.

[lostfan13]

02:24 AM on 07/28/2010

Ah, poor fellow got demonized. I suppose he wants another apology.

[tamazul]

01:44 AM on 07/28/2010

I nominate "Rusty" for sainthood.