Tony Hayward - Education and Early Career

Education and Early Career

Tony Hayward was born in Slough, Buckinghamshire, in 1957; the eldest of seven children. Later on, his family moved to nearby Windsor. After attending the local state grammar school, he went on to gain a first class geology degree from Aston University followed by a PhD from the University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences. Joining BP in 1982, with his first job as a rig geologist in Aberdeen, he quickly rose through the ranks in a series of technical and commercial roles in BP Exploration in London, Aberdeen, France, China and Glasgow. Hayward first came to Lord Browne's attention during a 1990 leadership conference in Phoenix, Arizona. As a result, he was made Browne's executive assistant.

In 1992, Hayward moved to Colombia as exploration manager and became president of BP's operations in Venezuela in 1995. In August 1997, he returned to London as a director of BP Exploration. He became group vice president of BP Amoco Exploration and Production as well as a member of the BP group's Upstream executive committee in 1999.

Hayward was appointed BP group treasurer in September 2000 where his responsibilities included global treasury operations, foreign exchange dealing, corporate finance, project finance and mergers and acquisitions. Hayward became an executive vice president in April 2002, and Chief Executive of exploration and production in January 2003.

In 2009, Hayward was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from University of Edinburgh.