Dev Sanyal

Dev Sanyal
Born	New Delhi
Alma mater	The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
Occupation	Group Chief Executive Officer of VAROPreem
Term	January 2026 —

Dev Sanyal is the Group Chief Executive Officer of VAROPreem, a leading energy company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and formed in 2026 through the combination of VARO Energy and Preem. He previously served as CEO of VARO Energy from 1 January 2022 and, prior to that, he served over a decade on the group executive committee of BP. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life and education

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]

Career

Dev Sanyal serves as the Group Chief Executive Officer of VAROPreem, a leading energy company formed through the combination of VARO Energy and Preem. He led the completion of VARO Energy’s acquisition of Preem to form the newly combined company. Prior to this, he served as CEO of VARO Energy from 2022 to 2026. ^[2] Prior to this, he served as CEO of VARO Energy from 2022 to 2026. ^[11]

On January 1, 2022, Dev Sanyal was appointed CEO of VARO Energy. ^[12] The ONE VARO Transformation strategy, which he unveiled in July 2022, is centred on the “twin-engines” of conventional and sustainable energies and commits to spending two-thirds of capital in sustainable energies to deliver a trebling of earnings by 2026 while delivering 50/50 earnings from both businesses. ^{[13] [14] [15]}

On March 31, 2025, he announced the acquisition of the Swedish energy company Preem AB. ^[16] The combined company, VAROPreem, is Europe’s third-largest refiner. ^{[17] [18]}

Prior to this, he was chief executive, alternative energy and also accountable for BP's Europe and Asia regions. ^{[19] [20] [21]} During his tenure in the group executive committee, Dev Sanyal built businesses in natural gas and sustainable energy and led the company's energy transition. ^{[22] [23] [24] [25]}

From 2007 to 2011, he was Group Treasurer and Chair of BP Investment Management. During this period, he led the company’s financial defence during the Deepwater Horizon incident. ^{[26] [9] [27] [28]}  Between 2003 and 2007, Dev Sanyal served as the CEO of Air BP International, ^[29] and from 1999 to 2002, ^[30] Dev Sanyal was CEO of BP Eastern Mediterranean. He has extensive experience in trading, business development and managing large-scale operations.

Memberships

Dev Sanyal is an independent non-executive director on the board of M&G plc since May 2022. ^[31] He was an independent non-executive director of Man Group plc (2013–2022). ^{[32] [33]} He is a member of the advisory board of the Centre for European Reform and a Fellow of the Energy Institute. ^{[34] [35]}

Prior to this, he was a member of the energy advisory board of the Government of India (2017–2023); ^[36] Accenture Global Energy Board (2012–2018); ^[37] Global Council of the International Crisis Group (2012–2020); Vice Chairman, Centre for China in the World Economy, Tsinghua University (2014–2019); ^[38] The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation Business Leaders Group (2012–2015); ^[39] and Trustee of Career Ready (2007–2013). ^[40]

References

1. www.ETHRWorld.com. "BP's renewables boss Sanyal quits in surprise departure – ETHRWorld". ETHRWorld.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
2. "BP's renewables boss Dev Sanyal quits in surprise departure". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
3. Hurst, Laura (20 May 2021). "BP Starts Offshore Wind Recruitment Push as Green Ambitions Grow". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
4. Bhattacharya, A. K. (7 February 2006). "A K Bhattacharya: The rise of PSU chairmen". Business Standard India. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
5. "BP-Vorstand Sanyal zu Erneuerbaren Energien: "Wir können nicht etwas aufbauen, das unseren Investoren keine Rendite bringt"". www.handelsblatt.com (in German). Retrieved 25 October 2022.
6. "Old Paulites". St. Paul's School Darjeeling. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
7. "Creating the next chapter in India's energy story | News and insights | Home". bp global. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
8. "Dev Sanyal". CERAWeek. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
9. "VARO Energy announces appointment of Dev Sanyal as CEO | Carlyle". www.carlyle.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
10. "Speaker Details: 2022 Energy Intelligence Forum". www.energyintelligenceforum.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
11. Hurst, Laura; Andy, Hoffman (14 September 2021). "BP Appoints New Head of Low-Carbon Business Amid Clean Energy Shift". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
12. "Speaker Details: 2022 Energy Intelligence Forum". www.energyintelligenceforum.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
13. "Varo to Stop Making Diesel From Crude in Effort to Cut Emissions". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
14. "VARO announces new ambitious ESG strategy". Hydrocarbon Engineering. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
15. Edwards, Rowena (5 July 2022). "Varo Energy sets low carbon strategy, net-zero goals". Reuters. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
16. Griffiths, Dylan (31 March 2025). "Vitol-Backed Varo Agrees to Buy Preem in Renewable Fuels Bet". Bloomberg.
17. "VARO completes acquisition to create VAROPreem". Bioenergy Insight. 16 January 2026. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
18. "There is a Huge Appetite for Alternatives: BP's Dev Sanyal". www.bloomberg.com. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
19. "BP returns to solar with investment in Lightsource". Reuters. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
20. "BP's joint solar venture Lightsource BP to more than double expansion by 2025". the Guardian. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
21. "Big Oil's green makeover". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
22. "BP's joint solar venture Lightsource BP to more than double expansion by 2025". the Guardian. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
23. "Big Oil's green makeover". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
24. "Oil refiner Varo aims to stop selling carbon products by 2040". Financial Times. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
25. Hurs, Laura; Mathis, Will (15 September 2020). "BP's Clean Energy Push Starts With Five-Year Dash on Solar, Wind". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
26. Thang, Elizabeth; Lim, Donavan; Puette, Loren (14 September 2022). "Used cooking oil: Is it the new liquid gold?". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
27. "Fig Leaf or Force for Good? IOCs and the energy transition". www.hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
28. Denton, Vicky (15 September 2021). "Dev Sanyal leaving bp to lead energy transition at VARO Energy". F&L Asia. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
29. "Dev Sanyal, EVP gas & low carbon energy, to leave bp | News and insights | Home". bp global. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
30. 李齐. "BP a trusted, valuable partner of China". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
31. "M&G plc appoints Non-Executive Director". www.mandgplc.com. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
32. "Oil exec Dev Sanyal moves to M&G board from Man". fintel.io. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
33. "Dev Sanyal new director at Man Group | Careers | POST Online Media". www.poandpo.com. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
34. "Advisory board". Centre for European Reform. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
35. "Speaker Details: 2022 Energy Intelligence Forum". www.energyintelligenceforum.com. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
36. "CERAWeek by S&P Global | The World's Premier Energy Event". CERAWeek. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
37. MarketScreener. "Dev Sanyal – Biography". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
38. "Swedbank Energy Summit 2022". www.swedbankenergysummit2022.com. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
39. "EXECUTIVE CHANGES: Oil exec Dev Sanyal moves to M&G board from Man". MorningstarUK. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
40. "Ep99: Dev Sanyal "In the Engine Room of the Transition"". Cleaning Up. Leadership in an age of climate change. Retrieved 16 December 2022.