Charles O. Holliday
Chair
Tenure
Appointed Chair May 19, 2015
Appointed a Director September 1, 2010
Board Committee membership
Chair of the Nomination and Succession Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Presiding Director of HCA Holdings, Inc. Director of Deere & Company. Member of the Critical Resource’s Senior Advisory Panel. Member of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Age
Born 1948
Nationality
US citizen
Career
Charles (Chad) Holliday was appointed Chair of the Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc with effect from May 19, 2015.
He was Chief Executive Officer of DuPont from 1998 to 2009, and Chairman from 1999 to 2009. He joined DuPont in 1970 after receiving a B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee and held various manufacturing and business assignments, including a six-year Tokyo- based posting as President of DuPont Asia/Pacific.
He has previously served as Chairman of the Bank of America Corporation, The Business Council, Catalyst, the National Academy of Engineering, the Society of Chemical Industry – American Section and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. He is a founding member of the International Business Council.
Relevant skills and experience
Chad has a distinguished track record as an international businessman. He was originally appointed to the Board as a Non-executive Director in September 2010 and, prior to his May 2015 appointment as Chair of the Board, served as Chair of the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and Member of the Remuneration Committee.
He has a deep understanding of international strategic, commercial and environmental issues, and gained extensive experience in the areas of safety and risk management during his time with DuPont. During his time as Chair, he has been committed to developing and maintaining a strong dialogue with investors and other key stakeholders and has ensured that their views are considered during Board discussions and decision-making. He has also demonstrated a strong commitment to ensuring that the highest standards of corporate governance, safety, ethics and compliance are maintained. Chad is a particularly avid advocate of greater diversity, which is reflected in the Board’s current diversity mix and increased diversity goals across the Shell Group.
Gerard Kleisterlee
Deputy Chair and Senior Independent Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director November 1, 2010
Board Committee membership
Chair of the Remuneration Committee and member of the Nomination and Succession Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Chairman of Vodafone Group plc, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ASML Holding N.V.
Age
Born 1946
Nationality
Dutch
Career
Gerard was President/Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Management of Koninklijke Philips N.V. from 2001 to 2011. Having joined Philips in 1974, he held several positions before being appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Philips’ Components division in 1999 and Executive Vice-President of Philips in 2000.
He was a member of the board of Directors of Dell Inc. from 2010 to 2013 and, a member of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG from 2009 to 2014. From 2014 to 2016, he was a Non-executive Director of IBEX Global Solutions plc.
Relevant skills and experience
Gerard is a Dutch businessman with a distinguished career with one of the largest electronics companies in the world. Through a variety of senior roles, he was responsible for operations in places such as Europe, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong. Gerard is also currently Chair of Vodafone, one of the UK’s largest global companies, which provides services to more than 500 million customers.
Gerard’s business experience provides him with a broad and deep understanding of the geopolitical, strategic and commercial challenges an evolving business faces. His experience – gained at Philips, Dell and Vodafone, businesses that have seen significant changes in technology and consumer behaviour – is a great asset to the Board as Shell transitions to a lower-carbon energy system.
Gerard is a seasoned leader, making him ideally suited to his position as our Senior Independent Director, Deputy Chair and Chair of our Remuneration Committee. He raises the bar on the level of Board debate, with his insightful, concise and direct questions.
Ben van Beurden
Chief Executive Officer
Tenure
Appointed Chief Executive Officer January 1, 2014
Board Committee membership
N/A
Outside interests/commitments
No external appointments
Age
Born 1958
Nationality
Dutch
Career
Ben was Downstream Director from January to September 2013. Before that, he was Executive Vice President Chemicals from 2006 to 2012. In this period, he also served on the boards of a number of leading industry associations, including the International Council of Chemicals Associations and the European Chemical Industry Council. Prior to this, he held a number of operational and commercial roles in both Upstream and Downstream, including Vice President Manufacturing Excellence. He joined Shell in 1983, after graduating with a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Relevant skills and experience
Ben has over 35 years of Shell experience and has built a deep industry understanding and proven management experience across the technical and commercial roles which he has undertaken over his career.
Since 2016, Ben has led Shell to deliver strong financial results, total shareholder returns and earnings per share. Ben has also led Shell through ending the scrip dividend and the start of a $25 billion share buyback programme. Under his leadership Shell New Energies has been established and Shell has announced industry-leading initiatives in response to the global challenge of the energy transition to a lower-carbon future, including the introduction of Shell’s Net Carbon Footprint ambition. Shell is now at the forefront of a cross-industry push to reduce the greenhouse gas impact of natural gas with the Methane Guiding Principles.
Ben has led the Company to complete the acquisition of BG Group and fully integrate it into our operations, executed an impressive reshaping of our portfolio and completed a divestment programme of $30 billion of non- core assets, making the Shell Group simpler.
Jessica Uhl
Chief Financial Officer
Tenure
Appointed Chief Financial Officer March 9, 2017
Board Committee membership
N/A
Outside interests/commitments
No external appointments
Age
Born 1968
Nationality
US citizen
Career
Jessica was Executive Vice President Finance for the Integrated Gas business from January 2016 to March 2017. Previously, she was Executive Vice President Finance for Upstream Americas from 2014 to 2015, Vice President Finance for Upstream Americas Unconventionals from 2013 to 2014, Vice President Controller for Upstream and Projects & Technology from 2010 to 2012, Vice President Finance for the global Lubricants business from 2009 to 2010, and Head of External Reporting from 2007 to 2009. She joined Shell in 2004 in finance and business development, supporting the Renewables business.
Prior to joining Shell, Jessica worked for Enron in the USA and Panama from 1997 to 2003 and for Citibank in San Francisco, USA from 1990 to 1996. She obtained an MBA at INSEAD in 1997.
Relevant skills and experience
Jessica is a highly regarded executive with a track record of delivering key business objectives, from cost leadership in complex operations to M&A delivery. Jessica’s extensive experience combines an external perspective with 15 years of Shell experience: she has held finance leadership roles in Europe and the USA, in Shell’s Upstream, Integrated Gas and Downstream businesses, as well as in Projects & Technology.
Jessica’s tenure as CFO has also been impressive. She was appointed not long after the BG acquisition, when Shell’s debt, gearing and development costs were high and when the oil price was still recovering from the lower levels in 2016. In these challenging conditions, but with great enthusiasm, clarity and discipline, Jessica has been a leading force in delivering on the financial promises Shell had made to its shareholders, and with great success. In 2018 Shell delivered $39 billion in free cash flow ($28 billion in 2017). This made it possible for Shell to decrease its net debt and gearing and increase shareholder distributions, following the removal of the scrip dividend, and the start of the share buyback programme.
Neil Carson
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director June 1, 2019
Board Committee membership
Member of the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Non-executive Chairman of Oxford Instruments plc and TT Electronics plc
Age
Born 1957
Nationality
British
Career
Neil is a former FTSE 100 chief executive. After completing an engineering degree, Neil joined Johnston Matthey in 1980 where he held several senior management positions in both the United Kingdom and United States, before being appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2004. Since retiring from Johnston Matthey in 2014, Neil has focused his time on his Non-executive roles.
Relevant skills and experience
Neil is a highly experienced former FTSE 100 chief executive with a broad industrial outlook and a highly commercial approach with a practical perspective on business. He brings a track record of strong operational exposure, familiarity with capital-intensive business and a first-class international perspective on driving value in complex environments. Neil also currently serves as Honorary President of the Society for the Chemical Industry and was awarded an OBE for services to the Chemical Industry in 2016. As a current non-executive chairman coupled with his executive experience, Neil understands what makes a board effective and how critical it is to work with executives who optimise shareholder value.
Ann Godbehere
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director May 23, 2018
Board Committee membership
Chair of the Audit Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants and a Fellow of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada.
Age
Born 1955
Nationality
Canadian and British
Career
Ann started her career with Sun Life of Canada in 1976 in Montreal, Canada and joined M&G Group in 1981 where she served as Senior Vice President and Controller for both life and health and property and casualty businesses throughout North America. She joined Swiss Re in 1996 and served as Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2007. From 2008 to 2009, she was interim Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director of Northern Rock bank in the initial period following its nationalisation.
She served as a Non-executive Director of Prudential plc from 2007 to 2017 and British American Tobacco plc from 2011 to 2018.
Relevant skills and experience
Ann is a former CFO, a Fellow at the Institute of Chartered Accountants, and has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services sector. She has worked her entire career in international business and has lived in or served on boards in nine countries. Although still in her first year with Shell, she has been adding exceptional value by bringing both her experience and new perspective to the Board.
Ann’s highly relevant skills, particularly in investment appraisal and financial risk management, are a welcome addition to our Board and Audit Committee. Her long international business career brings with it an invaluable global perspective and understanding, which is reflected in the insights and constructive challenges she brings to the boardroom.
As part of her induction, Ann visited our Middle East and US Upstream operations. These visits, combined with Ann’s unquenchable thirst for knowledge, greatly increased her understanding of Shell’s businesses, further strengthening the valuable contributions she had already been making to the Board. More information on these visits can be found under Induction and Training within this Report.
Euleen Goh
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director September 1, 2014
Board Committee membership
Member of the Nomination and Succession Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Chairman of SATS Limited. Non-executive Director of DBS Bank Limited and DBS Group Holdings Limited. Trustee of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs Endowment Fund. Chairman of the Governing Council of the Singapore Institute of Management and Non-executive Director of Singapore Health Services Pte Limited, both of which are not-for-profit organisations.
Age
Born 1955
Nationality
Singaporean
Career
Euleen is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, a Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Chartered Accountants and has professional qualifications in banking and taxation. She held various senior management positions within Standard Chartered Bank and was Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Singapore, from 2001 until 2006.
She has also held non-executive appointments on various boards including Aviva plc, MediaCorp Pte Limited, Singapore Airlines Limited, Singapore Exchange Limited, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad, Standard Chartered Bank Thai plc, CapitaLand Limited and Temasek Trustees Pte Limited. She was previously Non-executive Chairman of the Singapore International Foundation and Chairman of International Enterprise Singapore and the Accounting Standards Council, Singapore.
Relevant skills and experience
Euleen’s current roles as Chair or Board Director of various international companies provide significant experience in the area of strategy development and international businesses. She is a champion of diversity and constructively challenges the Board and management to constantly raise the bar in this area.
Being based in Singapore and as Chair of the Risk Committee of the largest bank in South East Asia, Euleen is close to key emerging/growth markets for our business. Euleen’s risk management expertise has elevated the Board’s deep deliberations around risk governance. Her extensive travel around the world, through her various executive and non-executive roles, has equipped her with broad geopolitical insight and significant knowledge of operating in the Asian region.
Euleen leverages her great approachability and financial acumen to pose probing and insightful questions, both in and beyond the boardroom. This provided a strong foundation for her role as Chair of our Audit Committee (January 2016 to June 2019) and contributes to well-rounded and incisive Board discussions.
Catherine J. Hughes
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director June 1, 2017
Board Committee membership
Member of the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Non-executive Director of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
Age
Born 1962
Nationality
Canadian and French
Career
Catherine was Executive Vice President International at Nexen Inc., from January 2012 until her retirement in April 2013, where she was responsible for all oil and gas activities including exploration, production, development and project activities outside Canada. She joined Nexen in 2009 as Vice President Operational Services, Technology and Human Resources.
Prior to joining Nexen Inc., she was Vice President Oil Sands at Husky Oil from 2007 to 2009 and Vice President Exploration & Production Services, from 2005 to 2007. She started her career with Schlumberger in 1986 and held key positions in various countries, including Italy, Nigeria, the UK, the USA and France, and was President of Schlumberger Canada Limited for five years. She was a Non-executive Director of Statoil from 2013 to 2015.
Relevant skills and experience
Catherine contributes her industry knowledge and ease of engagement with other Directors and managers in the boardroom. With her 30 years of oil and gas sector experience, she brings a geopolitical outlook and deep understanding of the industry. An engineer by training, she has also spent a significant part of her career working in senior human resources roles. The Board highly regards her perspectives on our industry and our most important asset, our people.
Catherine has a strong track record of executing operational discipline with a focus on performance metrics and a continual drive for excellence. Her knowledge of the technology underpinning oil and gas operations, logistics, procurement and supply chains benefits the Board greatly as it considers various projects and investment or divestment proposals.
She also leverages her industry knowledge – combined with her commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance and safety, ethics and compliance – in her membership of our Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee, while leveraging her human resources experience in her membership on the Remuneration Committee.
Roberto Setubal
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director October 1, 2017
Board Committee membership
Member of the Audit Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Member of the board of International Monetary Conference (IMC), the Economic and Social Development Council of the Presidency of Brazil, and the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is also President of the Fundação Itaú Social and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Instituto Itaú Cultural.
Age
Born 1954
Nationality
Brazilian
Career
Roberto was Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. in Sao Paulo, Brazil, until April 2017. At that time, he retired as Chief Executive Officer and currently serves as Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. Following a brief period with Citibank in New York, he joined Banco Itaú in 1984 where he held a variety of senior roles in investment banking, consumer credit operations and retail banking before being appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1994. Following the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco, he was appointed to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A. Previously, he was a Non-executive Director of Petrobas S.A., President of the IMC and Vice-Chairman of the IIF.
Relevant skills and experience
Roberto brings significant experience in capital markets and financial services to the Board and has a deep understanding of international strategic management, commercial operations and risk management. He was instrumental in designing and then executing a strategy that led to Itaú becoming the largest bank in Brazil.
His deep financial knowledge enables him to make robust, demanding and constructive challenges to our investment considerations and helps to ensure that projects are aligned with our strategic intent.
Despite spending most of his life in Brazil, Roberto has a strong understanding of global business. Naturally, he also brings an invaluable perspective and insight into operating in his native country, a key growth market for Shell. His contributions also demonstrate his strong advocacy for the highest standards of corporate governance, ethics and compliance. This, combined with his experience of operating in challenging markets, helps to deepen the Board’s analyses of difficult matters with multi-faceted risks.
Sir Nigel Sheinwald GCMG
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director July 1, 2012
Board Committee membership
Chair of the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Non-executive Director of Invesco Limited and Raytheon UK. Senior Adviser to Tanium Inc. and to the Universal Music Group. Visiting Professor and Council Member of King’s College, London.
Age
Born 1953
Nationality
British
Career
Sir Nigel was a senior British diplomat who served as British Ambassador to the USA from 2007 to 2012, before retiring from the Diplomatic Service.
Prior to this, he served as Foreign Policy and Defence Adviser to the Prime Minister and as British Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the European Union in Brussels. He joined the Diplomatic Service in 1976 and served in Brussels, Washington, Moscow and in a wide range of policy roles in London. Since 2012, he has taken on a number of international business roles, and supported organisations involved in higher education and international affairs.
Relevant skills and experience
Sir Nigel’s distinguished track record including three of the most senior international roles in British public service has given him broad geopolitical and public policy experience, as well as knowledge of regulatory issues, communications and stakeholder management. He has a global and strategic outlook which enables him to identify emerging issues that could present geopolitical or reputational challenges.
Sir Nigel brings a unique government policy perspective to our strategic discussions particularly on topics such as the energy transition, which are strongly influenced by the views of governments and a complex range of interested parties. His many contributions to the Board on this and other strategic and operational topics often reflect the interconnections between geopolitics, business and external stakeholder engagement.
He is used to operating in challenging environments and is committed to active external engagement. This, and his understanding of public policy and regulatory issues through his career in government service and membership of think tank and university boards, makes him well suited to the role of Chair of our Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee.
Linda G. Stuntz
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director June 1, 2011
Board Committee membership
Member of the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and member of the Nomination and Succession Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Director of Edison International
Age
Born 1954
Nationality
US citizen
Career
Linda is a founding partner of the law firm of Stuntz, Davis & Staffier, P.C., which is based in Washington, DC[A]. Her law practice included energy and environmental regulation, as well as matters relating to government support of technology development and transfer. She was a member of the US Secretary of Energy Advisory Board from 2015 to 2017, she chaired the Electricity Advisory Council of the US Department of Energy from 2008 to 2009 and was a member of the board of Directors of Schlumberger Limited from 1993 to 2010 and Raytheon Company from 2004 to 2015.
From 1989 to 1993, she held senior policy positions at the US Department of Energy, including Deputy Secretary.
[A] Linda retired from Stuntz, Davis & Staffier, P.C in January 2019.
Relevant skills and experience
Linda’s Harvard legal training and deep practical legal experience bring unique and valuable expertise in energy-industry and environmental law, as well as extensive public policy experience, to our Board. This is conveyed through her in-depth knowledge of the gas and power industries and her work on issues related to climate change and energy-related measures to minimise greenhouse gas emissions.
As a board director of publicly traded companies for more than 25 years, Linda has provided strategic and legal advice to many energy companies and has substantial experience in overseeing and working with businesses with operations around the world. She has a broad understanding of technology and its development/commercialisation within our industry, from her work with the US government and on the Schlumberger board. She has significant knowledge and understanding of cyber risks as a result of her Raytheon and Edison International board service.
Linda’s unique background, coupled with her exceptional ability to frame clear questions that tackle the key points of complex issues, helps deepen the Board’s constructive challenges and considerations of critical industry-related matters, particularly those related to the energy transition.
Gerrit Zalm
Non-executive Director
Tenure
Appointed a Director January 1, 2013
Board Committee membership
Member of the Audit Committee and member of the Remuneration Committee
Outside interests/commitments
Director of Moody’s Corporation and Danske Bank A/S
Age
Born 1952
Nationality
Dutch
Career
Gerrit was an adviser to PricewaterhouseCoopers during 2007, Chairman of the trustees of the International Accounting Standards Board from 2007 to 2010, and an adviser to Permira from 2007 to 2008. He was Chief Economist of DSB Bank from July 2007 to January 2008, Chief Financial Officer from January 2008 to December 2008, and Chairman of the Managing Board of ABN AMRO Bank N.V. from 2010 to 2016. He was Minister of Finance of the Netherlands, twice, from 1994 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2007. In between, he was Chairman of the parliamentary party of the VVD.
Prior to 1994, he was head of the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, a professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and held various positions at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. He studied General Economics at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and received an Honorary Doctorate in Economics from that university.
Relevant skills and experience
An economist by background, Gerrit’s distinguished twelve-year service as the Minister of Finance to the Netherlands, coupled with his experience gained from his time with ABN AMRO Bank, brings deep and valuable understanding of Dutch politics and financial markets to the Board. His international financial management expertise and strategic development experience also benefits the Audit Committee.
A highly regarded and seasoned leader in both the public and private spheres, his significant experience in analysing financial commitments from both a wider public stakeholder and global business standpoint serves the Board well, particularly when considering investment proposals. Gerrit consistently and concisely articulates the logic and reasoning behind his views, benefitting both the Board and management. His questions often trigger other analytical questions from fellow Directors, which serves to deepen and widen Board discussions.
Linda M. Szymanski
Company Secretary
Tenure
Appointed Company Secretary January 1, 2017
Age
Born 1967
Nationality
US citizen
Career
Linda was General Counsel of the Upstream Americas business and Head of Legal US, based in the USA, from 2014 to 2016. Previously, she was Group Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer based in the Netherlands from 2011 to 2014. Since joining Shell in 1995, she has also held a variety of legal positions in the Shell Oil Company in the USA, including Chemicals Legal Managing Counsel and other senior roles in employment, litigation, and commercial practice.
Relevant skills and experience
Linda is our Corporate Secretary and also plays an important role as Shell’s General Counsel Corporate, overseeing corporate legal teams in the Netherlands, UK, Switzerland, the USA and Canada.
The various legal roles Linda has undertaken at our headquarters, and in supporting both the Upstream and Downstream businesses, have provided her with a strong understanding of our global operations and people. Her experience of engaging with the Board in previous roles, coupled with her broad understanding and engagement across Shell’s businesses and functions, helps to ensure that the right matters come to the Board at the right time.
