LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) – Glencore Xstrata named Tony Hayward, the ex-BP chief severely criticised for his role in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, as permanent chairman of the mining and commodities trading group, ending a year-long search.
Hayward, who has been Glencore Xstrata’s interim chairman since Sir John Bond was ousted by shareholders last year, is also chief executive of London-listed oil company Genel Energy Plc.
His confirmation as chairman of one of the world’s largest mining groups completes Hayward’s return to the top of the corporate world after he was forced out of BP following the catastrophic 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Hayward is expected to eventually step down as chief executive of Genel, the oil and gas explorer he has invested in alongside British-born financier Nat Rothschild, a source close to the matter said.
Genel, which focuses on producing oil in the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan, declined to comment on whether Hayward would leave.