Dutch Shell top lady Marjan van Loon will step down from her position on April 1. He will be succeeded by Frans Everts, who is currently responsible, among other things, for global communications within Shell.

Van Loon headed Dutch Shell for seven years, working for the company in total for 34 years. “I am very proud of what we have achieved in the Netherlands in recent years. We have been supplying the Netherlands with energy every day, and it is cleaner energy,” said Van Loon, who is leaving the company.

Energy transition

Under Van Loon, Shell said it was the first major concern supporting the Climate Agreement. To this end, Shell has decided to invest around 6.5 billion euros in the energy transition. Some factories are also built for cleaner fuels, such as biofuel and hydrogen. Shell recently received a permit for the development of a wind farm in the North Sea.

His successor Everts has worked for Shell for 33 years, in various roles around the world. He said he wanted to continue working on energy transitions in his new role. “We have the knowledge and expertise to invest in solutions. But we can’t do it alone. Together with our partners, we want to make cleaner energy accessible to all of the Netherlands.”

The commotion around the Shell

Van Loon had a turbulent few years as head of Shell’s Dutch branch. In 2018, for example, there was political outrage over an agreement between Shell and the Tax and Customs Office regarding the payment of dividend taxes. The agreement was made when the company merged the Dutch and British holding companies. By paying dividends from now on through a trust in the Channel Island of Jersey, the oil and gas company prevents individuals who previously owned shares in the UK branch from having to pay dividend tax in the Netherlands.

Van Loon called it “wrong” and “bullshit” at the time. According to him, Shell is always transparent in its annual reports. He also argued that because of the agreement, Shell’s head office was located in the Netherlands, which he said brought many benefits to the Dutch economy.

Under Van Loon, Shell’s headquarters eventually moved to Great Britain and the group became fully British on paper. As a result of this move, ‘Royal Dutch Shell’ lost its royal title.

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By: Editorial