BP has named Emeka Emembolu as its new executive vice president of technology, according to a Thursday announcement.
Emembolu, who was BP’s chief of staff for the past two years, will now head the company’s technology functions, succeeding EVP of Innovation and Engineering Leigh-Ann Russell, who is moving on from the oil giant.
Emembolu has been with BP for over two decades. Since joining the company in 1998 as a production engineer, he’s held numerous positions, such as manager of base management for BP Alaska, vice president of reservoir development both for North Africa and for the Gulf of Mexico and Canada, and senior vice president of BP’s North Sea operations, according to his LinkedIn bio.
“Emeka has been chief of staff for the past two years and in a 25-year BP career has held senior technical roles right across the business, always focused on safety, value growth, people and technology,” CEO Murray Auchincloss said in the announcement.
BP has been active on the tech front so far in 2024. Since January, the company extended its partnership with tech firm Diebold Nixdorf, which helps modernize elements like self-checkout and forecourt tech at BP’s retails stores. It has also said that it’s in the process of updating its rewards program and mobile app, and recently revealed plans to open a supersized EV charging hub in Houston.
Emembolu’s position change comes amid a broader shift at BP. The company is integrating its “regions, corporates & solutions” division into its businesses and functions arm as a means to “reduce duplication and reporting line complexity,” according to the announcement.
BP said its financial reporting structure will remain the same. A spokesperson did not respond by press time when asked how these changes may impact its convenience store business, which includes brands like TravelCenters of America and Thorntons.
“We need to deliver as a simpler, more focused and higher value company,” Auchincloss said in the announcement. “These changes will help us do just that, reducing complexity within bp, allowing our team to focus on delivering our priorities and growing the value of bp.”
As part of this company-wide shift, BP has also named William Lin, who previously led the regions, corporates and solutions team, as EVP of gas and low carbon energy. Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, who previously help this role, is retiring.
London-based BP owns a variety of convenience retailing brands across the U.S. Besides its own branded stores, it owns Thorntons arm, Amoco, Ampm and TravelCenters of America. Its U.S. headquarters are in Houston.
