When an alert FBvian pointed out to me that BP’s new chief is an SMU man, I asked John to give me a few words. His take:
BP’s imbroglio is hitting even closer to home than the murky, oil-ridden waters tainting Texas’s southeastern coast: the oil magnate’s new CEO, the 54-year-old Robert Dudley — just named this morning and scheduled to take the reins October 1 from the much-maligned Tony Hayward — earned his MBA from SMU’s Cox School of Business. Aside from lawsuits galore and seemingly irreparable losses in the company’s morale and public image, gargantuan explicit costs, estimated between $30 and $60 billion, face the new CEO. Despite BP’s British roots, public sentiment seemed in favor of an American candidate to repair the damaged incurred on American soil. It’s hard to imagine what sort of advantage an American owns over a Brit in this situation — the task seems just as overwhelming for one guy as the next, regardless of nationality — but maybe his American pride gives him a patriotic incentive to succeed. Either way, let’s pray Dudley brings his A-game. He’ll need it.
