At a ceremony held in Dublin on 5th September the Irish Academy of Engineering (IAE) formally inducted Kerryman and bp CEO, Bernard Looney, as a Fellow of the organisation. Mr Looney was nominated for membership of the prestigious Academy in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the engineering profession.
A graduate of both University College Dublin (UCD) and Stanford University, Bernard Looney’s career with bp began in 1991 when he joined the company as a drilling engineer. He went on to hold a variety of positions across the company’s North American and European operations before his appointment in 2020 as CEO of the 113-year-old global energy company.
In his acceptance speech to members of the Academy, Bernard looney said, “Ireland has an incredibly rich engineering tradition and I am honoured to join the Irish Academy of Engineering as a Fellow. Solving the energy trilemma – the need for energy that is secure, affordable and lower carbon, requires everyone to work together. Through its work in promoting ideas and encouraging collaboration, the Academy has a vital role to play.”
Tom Leahy, President of the Irish Academy of Engineering, said, “Under Bernard’s leadership bp is on an inspired journey of transformation, pivoting from being an international oil company to an integrated energy company committed to net zero. In recognition of his achievements with bp and his contribution to the engineering profession we are delighted to welcome him as a Fellow of the Academy.”
Each of the main Academy committees has an active work and events programme. None of these areas of enquiry is “academic” in the sense of being of theoretical interest. They are all directly relevant to the very real needs of the people of Ireland in the coming years and decades. At the event Don Moore chair of the Energy committee read out the citation and the parchment was awarded by Academy President Tom Leahy.
Bernard then delivered a speech on how bp are addressing these challenges and has kindly approved his speech being published on the academy website. A question and answer session followed on what was indeed a memorable event, which delivered on the Academy motto of “Providing thought leadership at a time of great change”.
Academy Executive team and Bernard Looney
Academy President and Bernard Looney
Academy President, Tom Leahy, presents parchment to Bernard Looney
Bernard Looney Irish Academy of Engineering Speech_5 September 2022