Hayward Stepping Down... And Not a Moment Too Soon

Tony Hayward's career as BP CEO was doomed milliseconds after the oil spill destroyed the Gulf of Mexico, and if he did not step down, somebody would have ousted him from his perch. In the reality of business, and even sports and parenthood, the authority figure takes all the praise or the blame when a company succeeds or fails respectively, sometimes a little unfair to the thousands of employees who ultimately shape the ship.

The job of the CEO is to implement major rules and decisions that will lead to success, and as a result, many believe the specifics that led to explosion on Deepwater Horizon were not Hayward's fault. After all, he works all the way in Great Britain and the employees on the drill should have reported any problems to head office.

But these people trying to make a case that Hayward is merely a scapegoat are forgetting that BP's reputation as a safe and reliable oil company has not exactly been a long-standing one. Heck, you could argue it's been non-existent. Here are some facts and figures against its safety record:

- In two previous oil disasters, 30 BP workers were killed and more than 200 seriously injured.
- In the last three years, BP accounts for 97 per cent of violations in Ohio and Texas handed out by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
- In the last five years, BP has had 760 "egregious, willful citations", according to the OSHA. The combined "egregious, willful citations" of all other oil companies is 1.
- The largest fine from the OSHA was to BP for not correcting problems at a rebuilt Texas plant. The fine was $87 million.

Again, as I said, it's unfair to blame the CEO for a few violations, but considering the number of safety violations BP has, it's tough to not point fingers at Hayward. When he took over as CEO, Hayward even said he would make BP a safe and reliable oil company. Well, I'm no teacher, but I'd give him an F.

The removal of Hayward has been viewed positively by shareholders today. If somebody really wants to put their mark on BP, it should be somebody who will stand for real change. Whatever is left of BP's reputation will be restored once a new CEO steps in, but only if real and immediate change occurs.