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Founder / Operator·Data Centers

Bernard Looney

Chief Executive Officer and Chairman at Prometheus Hyperscale

London, United Kingdom

BL
LinkedIn
Why they matter

Ex-BP CEO now controls a $30B+ AI data center buildout and can open doors across energy financing, power procurement, and hyperscale infrastructure deals.

Background

Bernard Looney is an Irish energy executive who spent over three decades at BP, rising from a drilling engineer to Group Chief Executive Officer (2020-2023), where he championed BP's shift from an international oil company to an integrated energy company. After resigning from BP in September 2023 amid a misconduct probe, he re-emerged in the AI infrastructure sector, joining Prometheus Hyperscale's board in late 2024 and becoming its Chairman and CEO in March 2026.

Notable deals

  • 2020
    Named Group Chief Executive of BP, succeeding Bob Dudley
  • 2023
    Resigned as BP CEO after an internal probe into undisclosed relationships with colleagues
  • 2024
    Appointed Chairman of Prometheus Hyperscale to guide its $10B Evanston, Wyoming hyperscale data center project
  • 2026
    Named CEO of Prometheus Hyperscale to lead a ~2.5GW, $30B+ AI data center buildout across Wyoming campuses

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Irish engineer (UCD, Stanford MBA) who spent 32 years at BP, becoming Group CEO in 2020 at age 49.
  • Resigned as BP CEO in September 2023 after an internal investigation found he had not been fully transparent about historical relationships with colleagues; later gave up ~$40M in severance/awards.
  • Joined Prometheus Hyperscale's board as Chairman in Nov 2024; promoted to Chairman & CEO in March 2026, succeeding founder Trenton Thornock (now Senior Advisor/board member).

Current focus

  • Building two hyperscale AI data center campuses (Evanston and Casper, Wyoming), ~2.5GW combined, $30B+ capex — positioning power procurement and energy-industry relationships as the core differentiator versus pure-play data center developers.
  • Also sits on the board of Type One Energy (fusion), signaling a broader bet on next-gen power for compute.

What he cares about

  • The energy/AI/sustainability intersection; framing data centers as an energy infrastructure problem, not just a real estate/construction one.
  • Rebuilding credibility and legacy after a reputationally damaging BP exit.

Sensitivities

  • The 2023 BP resignation and related governance/conduct issues are a live reputational overhang — approach carefully, don't lead with it.
  • Very new to the CEO seat (since March 2026); may be cautious about commitments while still establishing the leadership team and strategy.

Questions to ask

  1. How is Prometheus securing power at gigawatt scale in Wyoming, and what's the realistic timeline to energization for each campus?
  2. What's the financing structure behind the $30B+ capex plan, and is there room for outside capital partners?
  3. How does his BP network (utilities, gas, renewables) translate into faster interconnection or power deals for Prometheus?

Outreach draft

Subject
Quick call on Prometheus's power strategy?
Hi Bernard, Congratulations on stepping into the CEO role at Prometheus Hyperscale — the Evanston and Casper buildout is one of the more ambitious power-and-compute plays in the market right now. We work with investors and operators focused on the intersection of energy infrastructure and AI data centers, and I'd value 20 minutes to hear how you're thinking about power procurement and financing at this scale, and whether there's a fit for a broader conversation with our team. Would you have time in the next couple of weeks? Best, [Name]

Linked companies

Sources