Meet Bob Dudley: 5 Things to Know About BP's New Cleanup Czar

Robert W. "Bob" Dudley's name and face don't ring a bell quite the way BP CEO Tony Hayward's do, and for a thoroughly embattled oil company trying to fix the gulf oil spill and win back some modicum of public trust, that's exactly the point. The oil giant announced today that Dudley, the company's diplomatic director of disaster operations, will take over the reins of the oil cleanup from Hayward, whose inept and callous response to the disaster has consistently embarrassed BP and earned him the moniker "the most hated man in America" (a title he took away from Sandra Bullock's soon-to-be ex, Jesse James, who you can bet is substantially relieved).

In fact, Dudley has been quietly helping to manage the cleanup effort -- and his company's image -- from the very first days of the crisis, giving several interviews about the spill (see below), during which he was able to avoid making offensive remarks about "wanting his life back" or caring about "small people." Evidently, his prior experience as the deal-making, politicking head of TNK-BP, the oil giant's Russian arm, served him well.

Higher-ups have so far stolen the thunder during the crisis response, but now, with Dudley at the helm, all of that could change. Here's what to expect from BP's new head honcho in the gulf.

1. He learned how to be an oil czar in Russia.
Before he was appointed a managing director at BP in August, Dudley was the CEO of TNK-BP, an oil company in Russia, where, according to BP, he increased production by 26 percent and delivered high returns to shareholders.

2. He isn't easily intimidated by big government.
President Obama, watch out. In 2008, Russia refused to renew Dudley's visa when he was locked in a fierce shareholder dispute with BP's Russian partners, TNK. But Dudley continued to run the company's operations, even after a campaign of "sustained harassment" forced him to flee Russia for an "undisclosed location," The Times of London reported.

3. He probably won't tell us that he wants his life back.
Dudley has proved remarkably adept at giving interviews without sticking his foot in his mouth. He looks more likely to infuriate the public by never answering the question at hand at all.

When CBS News correspondent John Dickerson asked Dudley if BP would bring in a supertanker to help with the cleanup efforts on May 30, Dudley gave this obtuse response, which Esquire magazine called "as convoluted as English can be":

We have looked at that. It's a -- we have looked at that. It's an interesting, interesting idea. Those have you -- been used in the -- in the Arabian Sea in the gulf over there for spills. What we're finding with this oil, it's -- it's light, it's relatively volatile. And with the use of dispersants, it tends to string out a number of miles long but very narrow. And so, as we look at this, it's -- it's not the same concept to be able to work. And -- and our spill responses at the surface now are being very, very effective.