Richard Campbell is retiring from BP effective Sept. 30, the company said today. Campbell's successor will be Steve Marshall, currently regional president, BP Scotland. The company will also be reorganized, with six Alaska business units consolidated into a single organization that Marshall will lead.
Campbell has been regional president of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. since Jan. 1, 1997.
"I've decided that after more than 32 years with BP the time has come to do something new," Campbell said. "We have lots of ideas, but no firm plans. Gabrielle and I will miss our many Alaska friends. We've grown to love this part of the world. We plan to return often."
Campbell and his wife, Gabrielle, will be moving to Gabrielle's hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia. Their two daughters, recent graduates of Service High, will be in school there.
Prior to his arrival in Alaska Campbell served as President of BP Exploration Colombia. He joined BP in 1969 after graduating from Glasgow University with an honors degree in geology and held positions with the company in a number of countries, including management assignments in London, Brazil, Egypt and Glasgow.
Marshall is a 24-year BP employee who worked in Anchorage and on the North Slope from 1978 to 1986. His arrival will coincide with the consolidation of BP's Alaska business. The company said that worldwide, BP is moving towards formation of larger business units in order to improve regional strategy implementation and business delivery.
The organization which Marshall will lead in Alaska will be more centralized. "We will have a more traditional business model with the president of BP Exploration (Alaska) responsible for the delivery of the total Alaska business," BP Exploration (Alaska) spokesman Ronnie Chappell told PNA. The present system, he said, is one in which the smaller business units centered around a group of assets in Alaska had responsibility both to executives outside Alaska and to the president of BP Exploration (Alaska).
