Peter Mather

Former Chair, BP Europe and Advisory Board Chair, Two Magnolias Venture Capital

Peter left his full-time executive role at bp at the beginning of 2022. The company asked him to remain as Non-Executive Chair of the BP Europe Supervisory Board which he did until January 2023. He has since taken on a few select advisory and non-executive roles across the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors where he can make a difference. These include:
• Chair, The Great Run Company, based in the North East
• Departmental Board Member and Interim Lead NED at DESNZ (UK Government Department of Energy Security and Net Zero) including Audit and Risk Assurance, and Nominations Committee membership
• Chair of the Aberdeen-based Net Zero Technology Centre
• Chair of the Advisory Board for Two Magnolias, a new UK-based Venture Capital Fund focussing on health and sustainability
• Various advisory groups and mentoring roles
His last bp role as SVP/Regional President for UK/Europe included: bp’s UK/European integrated business development, particularly focussed on the energy transition to low/zero carbon; corporate governance; advocacy and reputation management; government and external relationships; crisis management; arts, education, and sports sponsorships; and industrial relations.
He was very engaged with bp’s strategic shift to being a net-zero company by 2050, or sooner, and is excited by the broader strategic and geopolitical changes required in the energy sector to create a more sustainable future.
His last bp role also included:
• Chair of bp Oil UK, bp Lubricants UK, and bp Exploration Operating Company, in addition to the Chairmanship of bp Europe. He chaired bp Norway up to the Aker/bp merger.
• On the Board of bp France, bp Spain, bp Italy, bp Nederland and various other internal boards.
• Since 2008 Director of the £30 bn bp Pension Fund, with direct line accountability for the Fund’s executive team. Remuneration Committee Chair and sat on the Audit Committee.
• Peter is passionate about employee relations and chaired bp’s European Works Council and the UK Benefits Committee.
He has considerable external, media and government experience, including roles such as:
• Membership of HMG’s Councils for CCUS, Hydrogen and JetZero.
• Member of the Federation for Education Development business council
• Aberdeen City Council’s Net Zero Leadership Board.
Peter Mather CV continued…
• Board member of Fuels Europe, vice president of IOGP Europe, and a Council Member of ICC UK.
• The President’s Committee of the CBI and chair of the CBI’s Energy & Climate Change Board and membership of the International Trade and Investment Council.
• Chair of Business In The Community’s (BITC) Climate Action leadership team (formerly also a member Education and Social Enterprise leadership teams), Honorary Director of the Royal Opera House and a member of the British Museum Chairman’s Advisory Group. He was a member of The Programme Committee of the Ditchley Foundation. He has recently been made an Honorary Fellow of BITC.
• STEM Learning’s Strategic Advisory Board.
• One of the members of the 2007 Cabinet Office Capability Review of the Ministry of Defence.
• Lead for bp’s negotiations and eventual top sponsorship of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and ongoing Paralympic support
• Numerous live media appearances, including several times on The Today Programme and on TV news, typically facing heavy challenges to bp’s reputation.

In his earlier career, Peter has held senior business leadership roles in the Upstream, Downstream, Gas & Power and Corporate Centre, in London, New York, Paris and Brussels. Earlier roles included oil trading, refining and shipping; strategic planning in the Global Gas group; and the establishment/implementation of the bp/Mobil JV, leading the European Supply and Distribution activity, including accountability for bp’s refining activities in Rotterdam. Peter then ran the supply, trading and marketing business for bp’s North Europe Gas Business, was Managing Director of the UK Gas and Power activities and sat on the Board of the UK Interconnector gas pipeline and the Great Yarmouth power station. He led bp’s South Wales exit strategy, to the considerable benefit of the local community in the Swansea area.

He has an MA from Oxford University and an MBA from INSEAD and is an honorary Fellow of King’s College, London. He is married with three children, and his interests cover the arts and most sports. He was a Trustee of the Dartington Hall Trust for 9 years.
Peter speaks fluent French and German, and conversational Spanish.