Easy Money

[AtW]

Those big companies go a long way to avoid having unreplaceable people, yet they seem to have those right at the top - a good company that is well managed can work well without top people.

[lilelvis2000]

Is he on a final salary pension? Otherwise, all that cash will buy is a small two bedroom home in the south.

[AlfredJPruffock]

BP Chief executive Lord Browne is set to receive a bonus package of up to £3m - double his annual salary - for identifying his successor.


The package, outlined in BP's annual report, has deeply angered leading City investors.

It entitles Browne to share awards for developing executive talent and internal management of the group. One investor said: 'We are not happy with it,' and added that the matter had been raised recently with chairman Peter Sutherland, while another said it was 'not appropriate'.

The succession issue has jumped to the top of the investor agenda after Browne confirmed last week that he would stand down at the end of 2008 when he will be 60. Prior to his announcement at Tuesday's second-quarter results presentation, Browne's intentions were the subject of intense speculation and controversy amid reports of a feud with Sutherland, who insisted he stick to the company retirement age of 60.

Investors are split, some wishing Browne, architect of major deals in the US and Russia, and arguably Britain's most respected businessman, to stay on, others believing that he must stick by the BP rule book.

There is also concern about the replacement of other talented directors who are also due to retire - Sutherland himself is 60, and chief financial officer Byron Grote is set to leave in the next two years. In addition there are fears that one or more of the key BP insiders being groomed to replace Browne - Tony Hayward, Iain Conn, John Manzoni and Andrew Inglis - may go to competitors if they do not land the top job.

One analyst said: 'I don't believe that John Browne in isolation is the issue. You are going to have three key people standing down and if any heirs apparent leave too it could pose problems about future leadership. Investors we have spoken to are concerned about this.'