The ousting of Albert Manifold as BP's chairman in May 2026 - after less than eight months in post - has been widely reported as a story about one man's conduct. It is not. BP's leadership churn is not an anomaly, but a pattern. And patterns are governance problems, not bad luck. In this post, we seek to understand the broader governance challenges at BP, pose a series of questions, and make recommendations to enhance the collective leadership culture and avoid future success