At the age of 15, when his sixth sibling was born, Hayward moved out of the family home and started living with his paternal grandparents in Langley (a suburb of Slough).

[citation needed] Safety and production issues in Alaska and the explosion at the Texas City refinery made Peter Sutherland, BP's non-executive chairman, accelerate the process for finding a replacement for Lord Browne of Madingley.

Hayward, having been described as CEO-designate by both internal and media commentators, came to the fore amid the competition,[9] including Robert Dudley, chief executive of TNK-BP, the company's Russian joint venture, and John Manzoni, head of refining and marketing.

[12] Hayward made the comments at a town hall meeting in Houston: "We have a leadership style that is too directive and doesn't listen sufficiently well.

[15] Hayward was appointed to the chief executive position with immediate effect on 1 May 2007, after Browne resigned following the lifting of a legal injunction preventing Associated Newspapers from publishing details about his private life.

[25] On 12 May 2009, in a postgraduate lecture to Stanford Business School,[26] Hayward analysed the role and organisation of the company for which he acted as chief executive officer.

"[22] He received criticism for various statements he had made during the spill, including telling a camera man to "get out of there" during a photo-op on the shores of Louisiana.

[32][33] On 31 May, Hayward disputed claims of huge underwater plumes of oil suspended in the Gulf, as had been reported by scientists from three universities.

[36] On 5 June the Daily Telegraph reported that Hayward sold approximately one third of his shares in BP a month before the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded.

[37] The shares subsequently fell in value by 30%, although the Telegraph stated: "There is no suggestion that he acted improperly or had prior knowledge that the company was to face the biggest setback in its history.

[40] Before a congressional hearing on the oil spill held on 17 June, subcommittee chairman Bart Stupak of Michigan said that he expected Hayward to be "spliced and diced" by both himself and other committee members.

[44] Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's chief of staff, said that Hayward had committed yet another in a "long line of PR gaffes" by attending the race while the Gulf oil spill continued.

[45][46] In June, BP put Mississippi native Bob Dudley in charge of handling the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Dudley was appointed president and chief executive of the newly created Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, reporting to Hayward.

"[48][49] BP announced on 27 July 2010 that Hayward would be replaced by Bob Dudley as the company's chief executive effective as of 1 October 2010.