What happened to Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive at the time?
The company’s British CEO earned himself the moniker of the “most hated man in America” for a stunningly ill-judged comment during a visit to the Gulf to try to placate locals when he apologised for the “massive disruption” to their lives, but then added: “There's no one who wants this over more than I do. I'd like my life back."
He quickly apologised again for his “appalling” choice of words after a disaster in which 11 lives were lost and a whole ecosystem endangered, but the damage to his reputation was done.
The geologist from Slough had worked his way up through the ranks after joining BP from university in 1982 to succeed Lord Browne as the chief executive officer of the energy giant.
Even before the PR calamity of “I’d like my life back”, he made a series of gaffes, referring to the spill initially as "very very modest" and "relatively tiny" in comparison with the size of the ocean.
Twelve days after the gusher was finally sealed, BP announced that Hayward would be replaced by Bob Dudley, an American chemical engineer. Hayward has continued to hold senior positions with energy industry companies and is currently CEO of the Turkish oil business Genel Energy.