BP vs Microsoft: Founders, CEOs and History
BP was founded in 1909 by William Knox D'Arcy, Charles Greenway and is led by Meg O'Neill. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates, Paul Allen and is led by Satya Nadella.
Company facts
Founders
BP
William Knox D'Arcy
William Knox D'Arcy (1849-1917) financed the search that created BP. In 1901 he obtained a 60-year concession from the Shah of Persia to explore for and produce oil across about three-quarters of the country, paying £20,000 in cash, £20,000 in shares and 16% o…
Charles Greenway
Charles Greenway (1857-1934) was not among the 1909 incorporators but became the executive who turned Anglo-Persian into a working oil company.
Microsoft
Bill Gates
Microsoft was founded in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, childhood friends from Seattle who had spent their teenage years finding ways to get free time on mainframe computers.
Paul Allen
Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft and was crucial to its earliest technical and strategic decisions. He helped develop Altair BASIC, gave the company its original name, and participated in the operating-system opportunity that led to MS-DOS.
CEOs and their tenures
BP
- Sir John Browne1995–2007
Chief Executive Officer (former)
John Browne (later Lord Browne of Madingley) turned BP into a global supermajor through the acquisitions of Amoco (1998), ARCO (2000) and Burmah Castrol (2000).
Source - Tony Hayward2007–2010
Chief Executive Officer (former)
Tony Hayward, a geologist who joined BP in 1982 and ran its exploration and production business, succeeded John Browne in May 2007 and promised to fix BP's safety culture after Texas City.
Source - Bob Dudley2010–2020
Chief Executive Officer (former)
Bob Dudley, an American who began his career at Amoco and previously ran the TNK-BP joint venture in Russia, was BP's first American CEO, serving from October 2010 to February 2020.
Source - Bernard Looney2020–2023
Chief Executive Officer (former)
Bernard Looney's three-and-a-half-year tenure as CEO was defined by the most ambitious energy transition strategy ever articulated by a major oil company and ended in its most dramatic leadership dismissal.
Source - Murray Auchincloss2024–2025
Chief Executive Officer (former)
Murray Auchincloss, a Canadian who joined Amoco in 1992 and became BP's CFO in 2020, was interim CEO after Bernard Looney's September 2023 exit and permanent CEO from January 2024.
Source - Carol Howle2025–2026
Interim Chief Executive Officer (former)
Carol Howle, BP's executive vice president for supply, trading and shipping, served as interim CEO from December 2025, when Murray Auchincloss stepped down, until Meg O'Neill joined on April 1, 2026.
Source - Meg O'Neill2026–present
Chief Executive Officer
Meg O'Neill, an American engineer who spent more than two decades at ExxonMobil and ran Australia's Woodside Energy from 2021, became BP's chief executive on April 1, 2026, the first woman to lead the company.
Source
Microsoft
- Bill Gates1975–2000
Co-founder and CEO
Gates built Microsoft's licensing model: software sold to many hardware makers rather than tied to one.
Source - Steve Ballmer2000–2014
CEO
Ballmer grew revenue from about $23 billion in FY2000 to about $78 billion in FY2013 and built the enterprise server and sales business that Azure later scaled on.
Source - Satya Nadella2014–present
Chairman and CEO
Nadella made Azure and Microsoft 365 the company's core, opened Microsoft to Linux and open source, and positioned it early in generative AI through OpenAI.
Source
Timeline: BP and Microsoft side by side
1901BP
D'Arcy Persian Concession
William Knox D'Arcy obtains a 60-year oil concession from the Shah of Persia covering about 480,000 square miles, roughly three-quarters of the country, in exchange for £20,000 in cash, £20,000 in shares and 16% of annual profits.
1908BP
Discovery of Oil at Masjid-i-Suleiman
After seven years of expensive and largely unsuccessful drilling, field manager George Reynolds strikes oil at Masjid-i-Suleiman in south-west Persia on May 26, 1908. It is the first commercial oil discovery in the Middle East.
1909BP
Anglo-Persian Oil Company Incorporated
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company is formally incorporated in April 1909, with William Knox D'Arcy and the Burmah Oil Company as principal backers.
1914BP
British Government Acquires 51% Stake
At the urging of Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, the British government pays ~$2.9 million (£2.2 million) for a 51% stake in Anglo-Persian and signs a long-term fuel-oil supply contract for the Royal Navy, which is converting its fleet from coa…
1954BP
Renamed British Petroleum
Following the 1953 resolution of the Iranian nationalization crisis and the Shah's restoration to power, the company renames itself British Petroleum Company.
1970BP
North Sea Forties Field Discovery
BP discovers the Forties field in the UK North Sea, one of the largest oil fields ever found in British waters. Together with Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, it gives BP politically secure production just as Middle Eastern governments take control of their oil.
1975Microsoft
Microsoft Founded
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft after recognizing that the Altair 8800 needed usable programming software. Their first product, Altair BASIC, turned a hobbyist computer kit into a programmable platform.
1981Microsoft
MS-DOS Ships With IBM PC
IBM introduced its personal computer with MS-DOS 1.0 and other Microsoft products. The milestone mattered because Microsoft's operating-system work moved from a small software supplier's project into the emerging corporate PC standard.
1985Microsoft
Windows Launch
The release of Windows 1.0 began Microsoft's long move from command-line operating systems to graphical personal computing. The first version was not an instant blockbuster, but it gave Microsoft a user-interface path that could evolve with PC hardware.
1986Microsoft
Microsoft IPO
Microsoft went public on the Nasdaq in March 1986.
1987BP
UK Government Privatization Complete
The Thatcher government completes the privatization of its remaining 31.5% stake in BP through a global share offering timed for October 1987 weeks before the global stock market crash known as Black Monday disrupted the sale and left underwriters with unsold…
1990Microsoft
Office Suite Release
The bundling of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into Microsoft Office created a productivity suite that became central to business work. The bundle simplified enterprise purchasing and made file compatibility a competitive weapon.
1995Microsoft
Windows 95 Released
Microsoft released Windows 95 in August 1995.
1998BP
Merger with Amoco Corporation
BP merges with Chicago-based Amoco Corporation in a deal valued at approximately $48.2 billion the largest industrial merger in history at the time.
1998Microsoft
U.S. Antitrust Case
The U.S. Department of Justice accused Microsoft of using Windows power to suppress browser competition. The case mattered because it placed Microsoft's platform tactics under public and legal scrutiny at the height of its PC strong position.
2000BP
Beyond Petroleum Rebrand
Under then-CEO Sir John Browne, BP launches the 'Beyond Petroleum' rebranding campaign, introducing the sunflower logo still in use today and publicly positioning the company as an energy company committed to addressing climate change.
2010BP
Deepwater Horizon Disaster
The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, operating on the Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico under contract to BP, suffers a catastrophic blowout on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and triggering the largest marine oil spill in US history approximately 4.9 milli…
2010Microsoft
Azure Commercial Launch
Azure gave Microsoft a way to compete in cloud infrastructure as enterprise customers began shifting workloads away from company-owned servers.
2014Microsoft
Satya Nadella CEO
Satya Nadella became CEO and moved Microsoft away from a strategy that forced every product to serve Windows. He prioritized Azure, Microsoft 365, open source, Linux support, cross-platform software, and a more collaborative developer posture.
2016Microsoft
LinkedIn Acquisition
Microsoft agreed to acquire LinkedIn in 2016 for $26.2 billion in cash. The deal mattered because it added a professional identity network to a company already strong in Office, Dynamics, cloud services, recruiting tools, advertising, and enterprise sales.
2018Microsoft
GitHub Acquisition
Microsoft acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion in stock, reversing years of developer skepticism toward the company. The acquisition placed Microsoft inside the daily workflow of software developers across languages, clouds, and operating systems.
2020BP
Net-Zero Commitment and Dividend Cut
Under new CEO Bernard Looney, BP sets a net-zero ambition for 2050 and, in August 2020, pledges to cut oil and gas production by 40% by 2030 and raise low-carbon investment to about $5 billion a year.
2023Microsoft
AI Leadership
Microsoft's expanded OpenAI partnership and Copilot product rollout placed the company at the center of enterprise generative AI adoption.
2023Microsoft
Activision Blizzard Acquisition Closes
Microsoft completed the Activision Blizzard acquisition after intense regulatory review. The deal added Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatch, Candy Crush, and other franchises to Microsoft Gaming.
2024BP
Auchincloss Confirmed as CEO
Murray Auchincloss, BP's CFO since 2020 and interim chief since Bernard Looney's September 2023 exit, is confirmed as permanent CEO in January 2024.
2025BP
Strategy Reset and Bumerangue Discovery
In February 2025 BP cuts planned transition investment to $1.5-2 billion a year, raises upstream spending to about $10 billion a year and targets $20 billion of divestments and $14-18 billion of net debt by 2027.
2025BP
CEO Change and Castrol Sale Agreed
On December 17, 2025 BP says Murray Auchincloss will step down and names Woodside Energy CEO Meg O'Neill as his successor from April 2026, with Carol Howle as interim CEO.
2026BP
O'Neill Takes Over and Simplifies BP
Meg O'Neill becomes CEO on April 1, 2026. The board removes chair Albert Manifold on May 26 over governance and conduct concerns and names Ian Tyler interim chair, confirming him as permanent chair on September 2.
Acquisitions
BP
- TravelCenters of America2023$1.3B
- Archaea Energy2022$4.1B
- Lightsource Renewable Energy (43% stake, later 100%)2017$200M
- ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company)2000$27B
- Castrol Limited2000$4.7B
- Amoco Corporation1998$48.2B
Microsoft
- Activision Blizzard2023$68.7B
- Nuance Communications2022$19.7B
- ZeniMax Media2021$7.5B
- GitHub2018$7.5B
- LinkedIn2016$26.2B
Questions about BP vs Microsoft
Who is the CEO of BP plc and Microsoft Corporation?
BP plc is led by Meg O'Neill and Microsoft Corporation is led by Satya Nadella. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was BP plc founded vs Microsoft Corporation?
BP plc was founded in 1909 — 66 years before Microsoft Corporation, which was founded in 1975. BP plc's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Microsoft Corporation.
How many employees does BP plc have compared to Microsoft Corporation?
BP plc employs approximately 93,700 people, while Microsoft Corporation employs approximately 223,000. Microsoft Corporation has the larger workforce at 223,000 employees, compared to BP plc's 93,700. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are BP plc and Microsoft Corporation headquartered?
BP plc is headquartered in United Kingdom and Microsoft Corporation is headquartered in United States. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded BP plc and Microsoft Corporation?
BP plc was founded by William Knox D'Arcy, Charles Greenway. Microsoft Corporation was founded by Bill Gates, Paul Allen.
Which company has a longer operating history — BP plc or Microsoft Corporation?
BP plc has been operating for approximately 117 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Microsoft Corporation has been in operation for around 51 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the BP vs Microsoft overview