The Board of BP p.l.c. has announced that Professor Dame Ann Dowling will join the Board as a non-executive director effective immediately. Dame Ann is the Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge where she is Professor of Mechanical Engineering. Her research is primarily in the fields of combustion, fluid mechanics, vibration and noise, and is aimed primarily at the transport and energy sectors. She is one of the founders of the Energy Efficient Cities initiative in Cambridge. Ann Dowling is chairman to the University Gas Turbine Partnership (UGTP) with Rolls-Royce in which a range of technologies are researched for the next generations of aero and industrial gas turbines.
Sir William Castell has chosen not to stand for re-election at the Company’s Annual General Meeting on 12 April 2012. Sir William will have served on the Board for close to six years. He handed the Chair of the Safety, Ethics & Environment Assurance Committee to Paul Anderson in December 2011. Andrew Shilston will succeed Sir William as the Senior Independent Director and will be available to shareholders as necessary.
BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said: “Bill Castell has given exceptional service to the Board of BP and its shareholders over some six years. He has made a substantial contribution to the Board, not least as Chair of the Safety, Ethics & Environment Assurance Committee. The last two years have been a difficult time for BP. Bill has devoted all the time that was asked of him and more in the service of the Board and the Company. I speak for the whole Board when I thank him sincerely for all he has done.
“I welcome Ann Dowling to the Board. Ann has a strong academic and engineering background and I look forward to her contribution to our discussions.”