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ClimateNE & Climate Change Schools Project support the move to a low-carbon, resilient economy and help businesses avoid risk and realise commercial opportunities. Posts by Jen Atkinson, Krista McKinzey and Harriet Thew » He has presided over one of the worst oil slicks in drilling history but slick he isn't.
BP chief Tony Hayward's handling of the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico has lurched from one PR disaster to another.
It has helped wipe more than a third off the company's share price but it's hard not to have some sympathy for Hayward, who last week endured a six-hour grilling from US politicians over a crisis he could hardly have anticipated.
His response to the disaster has done little to restore BPs reputation, however, or endear him to an increasingly sceptical public on both sides of the Atlantic.
His first mistake was to distance BP from the crisis by pointing the finger of blame at the rig owner and contractors.
His refusal to directly answer questions put to him by a Congressional subcommittee last week stoked up further political anger.
And spending a day sailing around the Isle of Wight at the weekend did little to appease critics who claim he is not doing enough to control the leaking well.
Eleven people died when the well exploded 40 miles off the Louisiana coast in April.
And unsuccessful attempts to plug the leak have so far cost BP more than ã1bn.
Dividend payments have been suspended for a year at least while the fall in BP's share price will hit pension funds and investors.
Mr Hayward has given no indication that he will resign but his reaction to the crisis has not appeased the markets, US politicians or, apparently, his boss.
BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg has not exactly rushed to Hayward's defence, claiming he would only judge his CEO after the results of several probes into the disaster became clear.
Against this backdrop, it's hard to see how Hayward can remain in his job.
He will forever be remembered as the guy who presided over THAT disaster and perhaps now is the time for a clean break.
The question is, with the clean-up operation far from over and President Obama still baying for BP's blood, would anybody want to step into Hayward's shoes?
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