Shell to elect two new board members

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell will propose the appointment of Catherine Hughes and Roberto Setubal as non-executive directors at the 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Shell said on Thursday that the appointments of Hughes and Setubal, if approved, would be effective from June 1 and October 1, 2017, respectively.

Chad Holiday, chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, said: “The board is delighted that Catherine Hughes and Roberto Setubal have agreed to join the board. Both are distinguished international business leaders, and I believe they will bring valuable experience to our board.”

According to the company, Hughes has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. She served as an Executive Vice President International at Nexen from January 2012 until her retirement in April 2013. She originally joined Nexen in 2009 where she served as Vice President of Operational Services, Technology, and Human Resources. Before Nexen, she was the at Husky Oil for four years.

She started her career with Schlumberger in 1986 and held key positions in various countries including Italy, Nigeria, UK, USA, Canada, and France. Hughes is also a former non-executive director of Statoil and currently holds the same position in Precision Drilling and SNC-Lavalin.

Setubal is the CEO and vice-chairman of the board of directors of Itaú Unibanco Holding. Following a brief period with Citibank in New York, he joined Itaú in 1984 where he held a variety of senior roles in individual banking, consumer credit operations, and retail banking before being appointed CEO in 1994. Following the merger of Banco Itaú and Unibanco in 2008, he was appointed to his current position.

Apart from banking and finance, he previously served in the energy sector as a non-executive director of Petrobras.

Also, Patricia Woertz, a non-executive director since 2014, notified the company of her intention to retire and not seek reappointment at the next AGM.

Regarding Woertz’s departure, Holiday said: “Patricia Woertz has confirmed she will not be standing for reappointment at the 2017 AGM. I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for her commitment and valuable contribution to the board, the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee and the Remuneration Committee over the last three years.”

As a result of her departure from the company board, non-executive director Guy Elliott was appointed as a member of the Corporate and Social Responsibility Committee instead of Woertz with immediate effect.

Likewise, Sir Nigel Sheinwald will replace Woertz from May 24, 2017, as a member of the Remuneration Committee.

The last change in Shell’s committees is the appointment of Gerrit Zalm as a member of the Audit Committee. He will replace Guy Elliott who will step down with immediate effect.