It’s time for the oil giant to wave goodbye to Peter Sutherland , its Irish chairman, but what next will prove a big enough lure to a person who has already been in charge of the world trade organization?

Peter Sutherland was not in a great mood on Monday morning: the day preceeding his native country’s loss to Argentina in the Rugby World Cup, he could scarcely withhold his obvious frustration. He’d been present at the game at Parc des Princes with his children and words such as “suicidal” and “bejesus” poured from his lips.

Yesterday, he was on the Eurostar, travelling back to Paris, for a meeting that was part politics and part business. Such are the overlapping worlds of Sutherland: Dubliner, father of three, rugby fanatic, chairman of BP, chairman of Goldman Sachs International, new chairman of the London School of Economics, diplomatic fixer and afterdinner speaker supreme.

If we’re given a choice when we finally get to the Pearly Gates I’d wish to come back as a smart Irishman. Previously, I might have said an English aristocrat but it’s the Irish who are in charge these days. They seem to be in charge of everything. None more so than, a key figure in two business powerhouses as well as an extremely wealthy individual, thanks to his partnership at Goldman. But he’s served 10 years at BP and has begun the search for a successor. Suddenly, the oil giant needs to accept the reality of life without him .

It’s very easy to establish through talking to anyone at BP, these past few years to realise what a force behind the scenes Sutherland has been. While the company has had a variety of issues in America, they have been operational. On personnel matters, notably the attempt by Lord Browne and his friends to get the chief executive’s term extended, and then Browne’s departure following his lying under oath, Sutherland has played a pivotal role. His contribution in bringing BP forward is something which few can dispute.