BP board meeting Monday to decide CEO Hayward's future - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS

BP board meeting Monday to decide CEO Hayward's future

NEW YORK (AP) - Whoever replaces Tony Hayward as BP's chief executive has a lot of reputation repairing to do.

Hayward, who's been the oil giant's CEO since 2007, has angered a lot of Gulf Coast residents with public relations gaffes he's made since the massive oil spill.

BP said Monday there's been "no final decision" on possible management changes, but British media is reporting that Hayward has been negotiating the terms of his exit.

And BP's board plans to meet Monday evening, a day before it announces earnings for the second quarter.

Experts say the new CEO must persuade thousands of employees to embrace a culture of safety, mend fences among BP's partners in the Gulf and convince the U.S. government and public that BP can be trusted.

One name tossed about is current BP Managing Director Robert Dudley, who replaced Hayward as the head of BP's oil response team in June.

Dudley joined BP in 1982 as a geologist and grew up partly in Mississippi.

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