BP oil spill: who knows Tony Hayward?
Updated on 08 June 2010
As Channel 4 News reveals the Gulf of Mexico oil clean-up is costing $37m per day, what now for BP's boss? Who Knows Who looks at Tony Hayward - the geologist from Slough who is now the "most hated man in America".
On 20 April 2010 an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform operated by BP (see Who Knows Who map for BP).
Eleven people were killed and oil began to leak at an alarming rate - with estimates lurching from the initial one thousand barrels a day to 19,000 barrels and now a possible 25,000 every 24 hours.
Barack Obama has said he is "furious" and called the disaster "brutally unfair". It is bigger than the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989 and could damage marine life and the fishing industry for years to come.
So who is the man in the hard hat at the helm of efforts to save BP's reputation? Step up Tony Hayward, West Ham fan from Slough (see his Who Knows Who map).
Hayward initially downplayed the spill, saying in mid-May that the environmental impact would likely be "very very modest". By the end of the month Hayward, 53, told CNN the spill was now an "environmental catastrophe".
Described by The Times as a "beer and burgers"-style boss (because he is down to earth and takes local managers for a burger after site visits) he did not help himself when he said: "There's nobody who wants this over more than I do. I want my life back." He then apologised on Facebook.
He has since been branded "the most hated and clueless man in America" by the New York Daily News and President Obama has told NBC's Today show: "He wouldn't be working for me after any of those statements."
Hayward's wife Maureen has told the Daily Telegraph police had to be called to their home in Kent after she and the couple's two children had received "nasty phone calls" and hate mail.
(BP chief executive Tony Hayward ponders his future following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - Reuters)
So who knows Hayward? Born in Slough in 1957 Mr Hayward was the oldest of seven children, perhaps making him a natural leader. He is an amateur triathlon athlete and will need stamina to ride out this environmental and corporate storm.
He gained a PhD in geology at the University of Edinburgh (fellow alumni include Gordon Brown) in 1982 and in the same year began working for BP as a rig geologist.
Speaking at Stanford business school in 2009 he said: "BP makes its money by someone, somewhere, every day putting on boots, overalls, a hard hat and glasses, and going out and turning valves."
It seems this "hands on" approach has led his career, with the promise of adventure (he has held roles in China, Colombia and Venezuela) more dominant than the lure of boardroom power.
However the "BP lifer" took over from Lord Browne of Madingley as chief executive in May 2007 and his total salary and benefits last year were estimated at more than £3m. Interestingly, he will have worked alongside Anji Hunter, Tony Blair's former PR director (and wife of Sky News man Adam Boulton) who worked as BP communications chief after exiting Downing Street.
In 2006 (in the run-up to replacing Lord Browne) the Financial Times reported that Hayward had criticised BP's management following the blast at the firm's Texas City refinery that killed 15 people and injured more than 170.
He now finds himself in similar troubled waters. Portentously, just before getting the top job Hayward described his first priority as "focusing like a laser on safe and reliable operations".
Peter Sutherland, the former BP chairman, is the man who chose Hayward. At the end of April, he told the Financial Times: "I think he has been a superb chief executive by common consent, in terms of internal and external perception. That doesn't change because of this accident."
In recent days, critics have questioned the low profile of Hayward's supposed right-hand man Carl-Henric Svanberg, the current chairman. The former ice hockey-player, and ex boss of mobile phone firm Ericsson, is described as a "Swedish Richard Branson". But the 58-year-old has let Hayward do the talking since the Deepwater explosion.
Hayward's connections range from James Bond-esque meetings to the pie queue at Upton Park via royalty.
In 2008 he is known to have held private talks with Igor Sechin, a former top figure in the Russian military and ally of Vladimir Putin. The two reportedly negotiated on BP's deals with Russia.
Prince Charles will also be in his contacts book - the pair have discussed environmental issues and Hayward took part in the Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Forum at Clarence House in 2008.
But he is more likely to find himself standing next to Russell Brand in the stands at the Boleyn Ground - both men are loyal West Ham fans and among the famous faces sometimes spotted at home matches.
