Lord Browne
Lord Browne is credited with having turned around the fortunes of BP, transforming it from a struggling oil company into one of the world's most successful - and profitable - energy firms.The son of a British Army officer and Hungarian Auschwitz survivor, the then Mr John Browne joined BP as an apprentice in 1966.
He rose steadily through the company, becoming an executive director in 1991, and then chief executive four years later in 1995.
He has since led BP on a steady expansion trail and push into the US, including a merger with American firm Amoco in 1998, and subsequent takeovers of Arco and Castrol.
That same year he was knighted for services to industry.
Today he continues to drive record profits at BP, and is one of the best-paid UK executives, enjoying annual remuneration totalling £5.7m in 2004.
He said he was definitely set to retire from the role of chief executive in 2008. The move does not, however, mean that Lord Browne will give up all his busy workload.
In addition to the top job at BP, he holds a number of non-executive directorships at firms including Intel and Goldman Sachs, which has drawn criticism from business ethics analysts because of the size and power of these companies.
Unmarried, his interests are said to include fine cigars, antique furniture and the arts.