Wael Sawan (Arabic: وائل صوان ; born 1974) is a Lebanese-Canadian business executive, and the CEO of

Shell plc Shell plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational petroleum, oil and natural gas, gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and second ...

since January 2023.

Early life and education

Sawan was born in Beirut in 1974. He grew up in Dubai, and earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Canada. He took a career break and earned an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. He has dual Lebanese and Canadian nationality.

Career

Sawan joined Shell in 1997 as an engineer with

Petroleum Development Oman Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the leading exploration and production company in the Sultanate of Oman. The Company delivers the majority of the country's crude oil production and natural gas supply. The company is owned by the Government of ...

. In the mid-2000s he was country chair in Qatar, overseeing the planning and early stages of the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GtL) project. He rose to become head of Shell's integrated gas and renewables division, and succeeded

Ben van Beurden Bernardus Cornelis Adriana Margriet "Ben" van Beurden (born 23 April 1958) is a Dutch businessman who was the CEO of Shell plc from 2014 to 2022. He joined Shell in 1983, after earning a master's degree in chemical engineering from Delft Univers ...

as CEO on 1 January 2023. In the summer of 2023 he announced that Shell will be dropping plans to cut oil production each year for the rest of the decade. Sawan received a pay packet of £7.9 million ($10 million) for 2023, having become chief executive at the start of last year on an annual salary of £1.4 million.

Personal life

Sawan is married to Nicole, and they have three sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawan, Wael Living people Chief Executive Officers of Shell plc Directors of Shell plc 1974 births McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni Lebanese chief executives Canadian chief executives Businesspeople from Beirut Harvard Business School alumni