Woodside Petroleum boss Meg O’Neill throws open executive floors
Woodside Petroleum’s new interim boss Meg O’Neill has signalled a cultural shake-up at the nation’s biggest oil and gas producer.
Woodside Petroleum’s new interim boss Meg O’Neill has signalled a cultural shake-up at the nation’s biggest oil and gas producer, after axing a policy that barred most staff from accessing top executive floors at the company’s Perth headquarters.
After Peter Coleman ended his decade-long reign as Woodside chief executive on Monday, Ms O’Neill quickly moved to make changes to the company’s corporate culture by encouraging employees to move more freely around the building, including the top levels reserved for its most powerful executives.
The interim boss, in line to take the top job at Woodside, encouraged staff to enjoy “casual encounters” around the Perth office known as Mia Yellagonga.
“We will be opening up access to the top floors of Yellagonga so you can come up and see us,” Ms O’Neill said in an internal memo on Tuesday.
As part of changes, executive floors that previously required special swipe card entry would be open to all employees.
The move is a nod to unrest among some Woodside staff and investors that the company under Mr Coleman could have done more to develop its corporate culture.
The Perth headquarters, which include a baby grand piano, fireplaces, two swimming pools, private elevators and several executive floors overlooking Perth city, “raised eyebrows in both industry and the investment community”, Credit Suisse analyst Saul Kavonic said.
“While opening up the executive floor is predominantly a symbolic gesture, such optics can matter both for setting internal cultural expectations and the way the market perceives Woodside and Meg O’Neill.”
Still, cultural change may flow more quickly than any about-turn on the company’s landmark oil and gas projects.
As the company weighs whether to sanction its $16bn Scarborough project, an offshore gas development aimed at boosting its share of the LNG market, Ms O’Neill said it remained firmly on the radar.
“We are still working on a final investment decision on Scarborough and we will stay the course on delivering Sangomar,” she said in the memo, referring to its Senegal oil venture.
Ms O’Neill, previously Woodside’s executive VP development and marketing, told staff she was honoured to fill the role on an interim basis.
“It’s a honour to be asked to lead the Woodside team,” she said and noted Mr Coleman’s “exceptional leadership and growth of the company and instilling commitment while promoting inclusion and diversity and focus on value.”
Ms O’Neill also noted Woodside’s base business remains focused on safely and cost effectively delivering value every day, while also focusing on advancing its carbon and new energy business to ensure Woodside remains competitive in a low carbon world.
“While still in an acting CEO capacity, early moves like the above could help Meg solidify her position as permanent CEO in our view,” Mr Kavonic said. “Despite some changes, we expect Meg O’Neill and the board’s commitment to Scarborough may prove unwavering.”
Woodside, which reports its quarterly production on Thursday, up-ended its transition process last week, saying Mr Coleman would quit the board on April 19 and leave the company in early June, to be replaced on an acting basis by Ms O’Neill.
Woodside did not say why Mr Coleman will depart the company ahead of schedule, before the appointment of a permanent replacement, and with the announcement made only days ahead of Woodside’s annual shareholder meeting last Thursday.
Sources suggest the long lead time Mr Coleman gave for his departure had begun to weigh on the veteran oil and gas executive, potentially leading to friction with the board ahead of his decision to leave before a replacement was named.
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