The Accent is Different, but the Message Sounds the Same

In an impressively PR-savvy move, BP has assigned as new CEO not only an American, but also an American from the south.

Say hello to the new boss.

Bob Dudley, who had spent some of his formative years in Mississippi, was giving media interviews by Wednesday, one day after being appointed the new CEO of BP. The American with a British-sounding name hit all the right key messages, and referred to the spill as a “tragedy” several times. But he also made it clear that oil is buttering his bread.

“There are people along the Gulf Coast that think that because we capped the well, then we’re going to pack up and leave – that’s not the case,” Dudley told NPR reporter Renee Montagne. “We’ll be there for years. We’ll have offices across the Gulf Coast.”

Dudley went on to acknowledge that safety measures introduced three years ago were not acted upon fast enough, and that there is no question BP has to “up the trajectory on this dramatically.”

All that said, Dudley’s message to Montagne – who he warmly referred to as Renee – also emphasized his corporate goal, which is to push for more drilling. He warned that any limits on future drilling could be bad for the coast.

“A simple banning of one of America’s largest employers there in the Gulf may have some unintended consequences,” he said from London.

Well, the guy is being paid to build business. BP has set aside set aside more than $32 billion to pay for all of the expected costs related to the spill.