BP plc has tapped Helge Lund, 55, formerly chief at BG Group plc, to succeed Carl-Henric Svanberg as chairman effective Jan. 1. Lund is joining the board as chairman designate and nonexecutive director on Sept. 1. Lund, who also is chairman of Novo Nordisk AS in Denmark, plans to stand down as a director at Schlumberger Ltd. Group CEO Bob Dudley noted that Svanberg had guided the company through BP’s “darkest days,” referring to the Macondo tragedy, “and into this period of growth and modernization.” Lund served as CEO of BG from 2015 to 2016, when the company merged with Royal Dutch Shell plc. He joined BG from Statoil ASA where he served as president and CEO for 10 years. Prior to Statoil, he was president and CEO of Aker Kvaerner. Lund has a business degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration and a masters degree from INSEAD in France.