Dev Sanyal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | |
| Alma mater | The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University |
| Occupation(s) | CEO, VARO Energy |
| Term | January 2022 — |
Dev Sanyal is the chief executive officer of VARO Energy, a diversified energy company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland (since 1 January 2022). Prior to this, he had a 32-year global career with BP plc. [1] [2]
Dev Sanyal was born in New Delhi, India, and grew up in Darjeeling. [3] His father, K.S.B. Sanyal, was the chairman of the Andrew Yule Group. [4] [5]
Dev Sanyal studied at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, [6] and St. Stephen's College, Delhi. [7] He graduated from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University with a master's degree in politics and economics. [8] [9] Dev Sanyal is currently a member of the Board of Overseers of the school. [10]
Dev Sanyal serves as the chief executive officer of VARO Energy Group. Until 31 December 2021, he had a 32-year career with BP plc including over a decade on the group executive committee. He headed gas and low carbon energy globally. [2] Prior to this, he was chief executive, alternative energy and also accountable for BP's Europe and Asia regions. [11] [12] [13] During his tenure, Dev Sanyal built businesses in sustainable energy – solar, offshore wind, onshore wind, bioenergies, hydrogen and gas – and led the company's energy transition. [14] [15] [16] [17]
From 2007 to 2011, he was Group Treasurer and Chair of BP Investment Management. [18] [9] [19] [20] Between 2003 and 2007, Dev Sanyal served as the CEO of Air BP International, [21] and from 1999 to 2002, [22] Dev Sanyal was CEO of BP Eastern Mediterranean.
On January 1, 2022, Dev Sanyal was appointed CEO of VARO Energy. [23] The ONE VARO Transformation strategy, which he unveiled in July 2022, is centred on conventional and sustainable energies and commits to spending two-thirds of capital in sustainable energies to deliver a trebling of earnings by 2026. [24] [25] [26] On March 31, 2025, he announced the acquisition of the Swedish energy company Preem AB. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will create a $100 billion revenue company with six manufacturing hubs across 33 countries, focusing on both conventional and sustainable energy. On completion, the combined company will have a refining capacity of 530,000 barrels per day and will become the second-largest renewables producer in Europe, and among the top five globally. [27]
Dev Sanyal is an independent non-executive director on the board of M&G plc since May 2022. [28] He was an independent non-executive director of Man Group plc (2013–2022). [29] [30] He is a member of the advisory board of the Centre for European Reform and a Fellow of the Energy Institute. [31] [32]
Prior to this, he was a member of the energy advisory board of the Government of India (2017–2023); [33] Accenture Global Energy Board (2012–2018); [34] Global Council of the International Crisis Group (2012–2020); Vice Chairman, Centre for China in the World Economy, Tsinghua University (2014–2019); [35] The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation Business Leaders Group (2012–2015); [36] and Trustee of Career Ready (2007–2013). [37]