Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday announced former BHP CEO Andrew Mackenzie as its next chairman who will help lead the energy company through a major shift away from oil and gas to low-carbon energy.
Mackenzie will succeed Charles Holliday who will step down on May 18 after serving six years in the role.
Mackenzie, who left BHP Group last year after serving as CEO of the mining group from 2013 to 2019, joined Shell's board in October 2020.
Before that he worked at Rio Tinto for three years following a 22-year career in BP, where he held senior roles in oil and gas exploration, research and development and chemicals.
Mackenzie, a British national born in 1956, will take over as the Anglo-Dutch company undergoes a major overhaul focused on low-carbon businesses and power trading and reducing its greenhouse emissions by mid-century.
He will also likely lead in the coming years the search for a successor to CEO Ben van Beurden, who has been in office since 2014.
His appointment also follows a year which due to the pandemic prompted Shell to cut its dividend for the first time since World War II.
"I look forward to working with Ben van Beurden and the Board to profitably accelerate Shell's transition into a net-zero emissions energy business that continues to generate substantial value for shareholders, customers and communities alike," Mackenzie said. --Reuters
Meanwhile, van Beurden was reported to have taken a large pay cut after a bruising 2020.
The Chief Executive’s pay package dropped by 42 per cent to $7 million in 2020, a year in which the coronavirus pandemic pushed the energy company to a historic dividend cut following a collapse in profits.
Van Beurden, who initially oversaw growth in Shell's oil and gas output after taking office in 2014, is now leading the Anglo-Dutch company through a shift towards low-carbon energy in an effort to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Van Beurden's total remuneration for 2020 was 5.8 million euros ($6.93 million), compared with about 10 million euros the year before, the company disclosed in its annual report on Thursday.
In 2019, Van Beurden’s remuneration had also dropped by 51 per cent. --Reuters