Ex-BP CEO just got a prestigious new job

Tony Hayward became the center of a PR firestorm in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. In addition to the massive environmental damage that resulted from the spill, Hayward's response left a lot to be desired, saying at one point that he "wanted his life back."

His inability to to manage the crisis saw him booted from the top job in July, 2010. 

Even after what was an extremely embarrassing and public exit, Hayward ended up back in the oil game. He's currently the CEO of Genel Energy, a small oil company focused on Iraq. 

Now, The Wall Street Journal reports, Hayward's going to be taking a much more public role, at least for now. He's taking over as Chairman of Glencore XStrata, a newly merged mining and commodities giant that's among the largest in the world. 

He's the interim chairman, and apparently not a candidate for the permanent job, and was elevated to the position from his earlier role as an independent director and deputy chairman after shareholders declined to re-elect John Bond as part of a wider cull of former XStrata board members. 

Still, Hayward's an interesting choice given his checkered reputation, and this is being billed as something of a comeback.

We'll see if three years has been long enough for the disastrous end of his tenure to fade from memory, and for him to take such a public role without being a distraction. 

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