Dev Sanyal is the chief executive officer of VARO Energy, a diversified energy company headquartered in

Zug Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

(since 1 January 2022). Prior to this, he had a 32-year global career with

BP plc BP p.l.c. (formerly The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and BP Amoco p.l.c.; stylised in all lowercase) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. It is one of the oil and gas "supermajors" and one of th ...

Early life and education

Dev Sanyal was born in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and grew up in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

. His father, K.S.B. Sanyal, was the chairman of the Andrew Yule Group. Dev Sanyal studied at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling, and St. Stephen's College,

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. He graduated from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University with a master's degree in politics and economics. Dev Sanyal is currently a member of the Board of Overseers of the school.

Career

Dev Sanyal serves as the chief executive officer of VARO Energy Group. Until 31 December 2021, he had a 32-year career with

including over a decade on the group executive committee. He headed gas and low carbon energy globally. Prior to this, he was chief executive, alternative energy and also accountable for BP's Europe and Asia regions. During his tenure, Dev Sanyal built businesses in sustainable energy –

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

offshore wind Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the Electricity generation, generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more elect ...

, onshore wind, bioenergies,

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

and gas – and led the company's energy transition. From 2007 to 2011, he was Group Treasurer and Chair of BP Investment Management. Between 2003 and 2007, Dev Sanyal served as the CEO of Air BP International, and from 1999 to 2002, Dev Sanyal was CEO of BP Eastern Mediterranean. On January 1, 2022, Dev Sanyal was appointed CEO of VARO Energy. The ONE VARO Transformation strategy, which he unveiled in July 2022, is centred on conventional and sustainable energies and commits to spending two-thirds of capital in sustainable energies to deliver a trebling of earnings by 2026. On March 31, 2025, he announced the acquisition of the Swedish energy company Preem AB. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will create a $100 billion revenue company with six manufacturing hubs across 33 countries, focusing on both conventional and sustainable energy. On completion, the combined company will have a refining capacity of 530,000 barrels per day and will become the second-largest renewables producer in Europe, and among the top five globally.

Memberships

Dev Sanyal is an independent non-executive director on the board of M&G plc since May 2022. He was an independent non-executive director of Man Group plc (2013–2022). He is a member of the advisory board of the

Centre for European Reform The Centre for European Reform (CER) is a London-based think tank that focuses on matters of European integration. In 2021 it was ranking 58th among the top think tanks worldwide (non-US) in the Global Go To Think Tank Index Report published by th ...

and a Fellow of the

Energy Institute The Energy Institute (EI) is a professional organization for engineers and other professionals in energy-related fields. The EI was formed in 2003 by the merger of the Institute of Petroleum (dating back to 1913) and the Institute of Energy ( ...

. Prior to this, he was a member of the energy advisory board of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

(2017–2023); Accenture Global Energy Board (2012–2018); Global Council of the International Crisis Group (2012–2020); Vice Chairman, Centre for China in the World Economy,

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

(2014–2019); The

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, is a substantive title that has been created four times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not pr ...

’s International Award Foundation Business Leaders Group (2012–2015); and Trustee of Career Ready (2007–2013).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanyal, Dev Living people 1965 births St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni The Fletcher School at Tufts University alumni People from Darjeeling