Linda Zarda Cook (born June 4, 1958) is an American businesswoman, who is
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
Royal Dutch Shell
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...
, in the Netherlands until 2009. Cook was named the 44th most powerful woman in the world by ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' magazine in September 2007.
Biography
Cook was raised in
Shawnee, Kansas
Shawnee is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the seventh-most populous municipality in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 67,311.
History
Territory of Kansas
Befor ...
. She graduated from the
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
in
petroleum engineering
Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas or both. Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the ''upstrea ...
in 1980.
She began her Shell career in 1980 as a reservoir engineer in the United States, advancing through the company to accept greater responsibilities in exploration and production with Shell U.S.A. Her first European assignment came in 1998, when she and her family moved to the Netherlands, where she led Shell International EP. She was CEO of the Gas & Power division from 2000 to 2003, then led
Shell Canada
Shell Canada Limited () is the principal Canadian subsidiary of British energy major Shell plc and one of Canada's largest integrated oil companies. Exploration and production of oil, natural gas and sulphur is a major part of its business, as ...
for a year before returning to her previous post.
On May 26, 2009, Shell announced that Cook mutually agreed to step down after losing the race to become the company's next chief executive. Shortly following the announcement of her resignation was the news that her division, Gas and Power, would be absorbed into the new management structure being promoted by new chief executive
Peter Voser
Peter Robert Voser (born 29 August 1958) is a Swiss businessman, who is the chairman of the Swedish-Swiss company ABB. He was the CEO of the Dutch-British corporation Royal Dutch Shell from July 2009 to December 2013. He was interim CEO of ABB f ...
. Shares in Shell fell 1.1 per cent or 18p to 1613p in morning trading. Cook had worked for Shell for 29 years. She lost out on a loyalty bonus of more than £800,000, but her severance pay came to about £5million, a figure determined by standard company and legal guidelines.
Cook joined the board of directors of
The Boeing Company
The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
in 2003. She held four board assignments over the course of her tenure, including chair of the finance committee. On February 10, 2015, it was announced that Cook would not seek reelection to the board, ending her term that April. Cook has also been on the boards of directors of KBR and
Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil Corporation was an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration. In November 2024, it was acquired by ConocoPhillips and absorbed into the company.
Marathon was founded in Lima, Ohio, as the Ohio Oil Company. In 1899, the ...
.
Cook has been CEO of Harbour Energy since it was established in July 2014. In March 2021, the company merged and absorbed Chrysaor Holdings and
Premier Oil
Premier Oil plc was an independent UK oil company with gas and oil interests in the United Kingdom, Asia, Africa and Mexico. It was devoted entirely to the 'upstream' sector of the industry — the exploitation of oil and gas — as opposed to th ...
to become the largest oil and gas producer in the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...