Rolls-Royce names Tufan Erginbilgic as new chief to succeed Warren East

Rolls-Royce has named a former executive of oil group BP and partner at a private equity group as its new chief executive to succeed Warren East.

The FTSE 100 engineering group said that Tufan Erginbilgic would take up his new role at the start of next year.

Erginbilgic is a partner at Global Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm which focuses on large-scale investments in infrastructure businesses. He spent more than 20 years with BP, including five as part of its executive team. His last role before leaving in 2020 was as head of the oil company’s refining and marketing division.

Rolls-Royce has been looking for a new chief since East announced in February that he would leave the group at the end of the year.

The coronavirus pandemic led to the grounding of most of the world’s airline fleet and hit Rolls-Royce, whose engines power wide-body planes, hard. In 2020, it embarked on a sweeping restructuring plan to cut 9,000 jobs and had to shore up its balance sheet with £7.3bn of new equity and debt.

The relatively unknown Erginbilgic will need to steer Rolls-Royce back to full financial health and navigate the threat that decarbonisation poses to a business built on engines powered by hydrocarbons. Under East, the company has invested in electric aircraft and small modular nuclear reactors.

Erginbilgic, who is a dual UK and Turkish national, will receive a base salary of £1.25mn, 30 per cent of which will be paid as shares deferred for two years.

Anita Frew, Rolls-Royce chair, on Tuesday said Erginbilgic was a “proven leader of winning teams within complex multinational organisations, with an ability to drive a high-performance culture and deliver results for investors”.

“He has extensive strategic and operational experience and a firm understanding of safety critical industries, including aerospace, as well as the challenges and commercial opportunities presented by the drive for low carbon technologies,” she added.

Erginbilgic said he was determined to “build a platform for growth in order to create value for all stakeholders”.