bp announces four new appointments to its team in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye

bp has announced four new appointments to its business leadership team in the Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye (AGT) regions, Azernews reports.

"These changes are part of bp's continual commitment to safe and reliable operations in the region, as well as to the development of its national staff and workforce involved in its activities," said the company.

Leyla Mammadova has been appointed bp’s vice president of people and culture (P&C) for AGT.

In this role, Leyla has replaced Elnara Mammadova, who has moved to bp’s London offices as operating model and organisation design lead for the Group P&C. Leyla brings over 23 years of professional industry, international human resources, and people management experience to the role. She joined bp in 2001 and, throughout her career, has held a broad range of P&C roles across the company. This includes partnering roles in Azerbaijan, the UK, and senior P&C leadership positions in bp’s global offices in Georgia and Russia, as well as her most recent role as vice president of P&C, where she supported the global bp Solutions organisation. Leyla is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and holds a postgraduate diploma in human resource management.

Russell Morrice has been appointed vice president wells, AGT, replacing Jim O’Leary.

Russell has 25 years of wells experience in bp and has held multiple leadership positions globally, including in the UK, Algeria, Libya, Australia, Egypt, the AGT, and the Asia-Pacific regions. His most recent role was vice president of the wells discipline. Russell is known for his deep technical knowledge, commitment to safety, inclusive leadership, and mentoring.

Matt Kirkham has been appointed vice president of projects, AGT, the Middle East, and North Africa, replacing Cathal Kelly.

Matt has 13 years of experience with bp and over 26 years within the energy industry. His experience includes assignments in Brazil, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, and the US. In his most recent role, Matt was vice president of projects for the Asia-Pacific region. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University.

Dan Sparkes has been appointed vice president, subsurface, AGT, replacing Roshni Moosai.

Dan has 25 years of industry experience, most of it in subsurface, focusing on unlocking difficult-to-extract resources. His experience includes assignments in production operations, wells, and subsurface, including offshore and other field sites in countries such as Canada, Brazil, the US, the UK, Norway, Indonesia, Australia, and India. His most recent role was vice president of subsurface for the Asia-Pacific and India regions. With many years spent working onshore in North America and in mature oil and gas fields worldwide, Dan enjoys finding the potential for new life in producing areas. Dan holds a degree in petroleum engineering and is a professional engineer licenced in Alberta, Canada.