Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell

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Shell from 2004 to 2008 In 2004 Philip Watts, then chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors of Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies, admitted that the firm had overbooked its reserves by 20% in a period when they were struggling to find new sources of oil and gas. Criticism of the firm’s corporate governance structure mounted in the wake of the scandal both in and outside the organization.2 Since its founding, Shell had maintained a dual corporate structure with two headquarters—one in London and the other in The Hague—two supervisory boards, and a single chairman elected by the two boards.3 To foster accountability, simplify decision-making, and unify the reserves, Shell’s new chairman van der Veer merged the two companies in 2005 into Royal Dutch Shell plc, headquartered in The Hague, incorporated in England and Wales, and managed by a single board.4 That same year, he became Shell’s first CEO. Shell’s business was divided into two main areas: upstream, which included oil and gas exploration and production, and downstream, which included refinery operations, oil and gas product development, and the marketing of oil and gas products to retail and industrial customers. The 2005 corporate restructuring did not directly affect Shell’s three operating units: Exploration and Production, managed by Malcolm Brinded; Oil Sands, Chemicals, Refined Oil Products, and Marketing, managed by Rob Routs; and the rapidly growing Gas and Power business, managed by Cook along with Trading (Shell’s trading and shipping activities), Renewable Energies, and Global Solutions (Shell’s technical consultancy arm). (See Exhibit 2 for a description of the businesses.) Hugh Mitchell, HR Director, commented on the decision to maintain the current business structure at the time of the 2005 corporate restructuring: In the late 1990s downstream moved from a country-based

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