Wael Sawan, who took over the top job at Shell this year, has announced plans to merge some of its operational divisions, reducing the number of members on its executive committee from nine to seven.
The most lucrative divisions at the firm, Integrated Gas and Upstream, will be merged into a single business unit named the Integrated Gas and Upstream Directorate and headed by Zoe Yujnovich, who is already the director of upstream operations. A new Downstream and Renewables Directorate will also be created by merging Renewables & Energy Solutions with the Downstream division, which includes fuels and lubricants like gear oil. Huibert Vigeveno, the current Downstream Director, will head the new unit.
Sawan said he was bringing about the changes as part of the company’s continual, natural development, adding:
“Our core purpose is to provide energy to our customers, safely and profitably, while helping them—and us—to decarbonise. I believe that fewer interfaces mean greater co-operation, discipline and speed, enabling us to focus on strengthening performance across the businesses and generating strong returns for our investors.”
Shell will also try to improve its decision-making for capital allocation and planning processes by bringing Strategy and Sustainability together with New Business Development in a unit that will report directly to the Chief Financial Officer. Corporate relations, meanwhile, will come under Sawan’s direct oversight. The current Strategy, Sustainability and Corporate Relations (SSCR) Directorate will then be disbanded, with Ed Daniels, the current director, set to leave the executive committee and ultimately the firm.
