Oil giant BP taps former Pentagon spokesman to help repair its image

Morrell, who left the Department of Defense earlier this summer, arrives as BP tries to rebuild its image in the wake of last year’s massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Senior BP executives announced Morrell’s hiring in an email circulated internally Monday.

“In this role Geoff will oversee external and internal communications for BP in the United States. He will be responsible for leading our communications efforts in the U.S., as well as playing a critical role with our broader global communications and reputational activities,” states the memo from BP America President Lamar McKay and Peter Henshaw, BP’s group head of communications.

BP confronts a suite of challenges stemming from the spill. The spill remains under investigation by a joint Interior Department-U.S. Coast Guard team, while the company also faces lawsuits from the Justice Department and other parties.

At the same time, BP is mounting an effort to win federal permission to drill again in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Morrell will report directly to Henshaw and will join McKay’s “leadership team,” the announcement states. “He will work with senior leadership across the USA businesses and functions,” BP said.

Morrell will remain in Washington with his wife and twin 3-year-old daughters but will have a “significant and regular Houston and broader U.S. presence,” BP said.

Morrell was the top spokesman for former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He was appointed under President George W. Bush in June of 2007 and, like Gates, stayed on under President Obama.

Before that Morrell was a White House correspondent for ABC News, and spent seven years at the network, according to BP. 

He graduated from Georgetown University in 1991 and has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Politico first reported on his move to BP Monday.

This post was updated at 7:13 a.m.

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