Four months after resigning under pressure as chief executive of BP, the oil company he turned into an international titan through canny acquisitions, Lord Browne of Madingley is back full-time in the energy business. Named managing director and managing partner of the European operations of New York private equity group Riverstone as of September 1, Browne has a mandate to identify new investment opportunities, particularly in alternative energy areas like solar and wind power. Browne, 59, quit BP in May ahead of what had been his scheduled retirement in July after admitting that he had given the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords an “untruthful account” about his relationship with a younger man to block tabloids from printing details of his personal life. Energy industry specialist Riverstone, which has more than $6 billion under management, was founded in 2000 by two former Goldman Sachs investment bankers who advised Lord Browne at BP, David Leuschen and Pierre Lapeyre Jr.
