BP has lost its head of electric vehicle charging for the second time in a year, marking a decisive shift away from clean energy investments. Martin Thomsen, who led BP Pulse and European retail operations, joined Rolls-Royce this month as chief procurement officer. This departure follows the arrival of new CEO Meg O'Neill, who is expected to accelerate BP's pivot back to oil and gas under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which built a 5% stake in BP in 2025.

BP is examining potential sales of assets outside its core oil and gas business, including its Austrian and South African fuel operations. The company sold nearly two-thirds of its lubricants business Castrol to Stonepeak for $6bn last December to reduce debt. A senior banker likened BP's restructuring to ConocoPhillips' 2010 break-up, which spun off refining and sold non-core assets, boosting its market cap to $164bn from BP's current $94bn valuation.

BP Pulse, which lost its former head Richard Bartlett in March, faces challenges as the group shut down its low-emission vehicle development team. Thomsen's exit underscores BP's broader strategy to focus on retail and core oil assets, with O'Neill's leadership signaling a permanent retreat from ambitious clean energy targets.