Former Royal Dutch Shell and GSK veteran first woman to join Aramco board amid IPO plans
Saudi Aramco has appointed the first woman to its board as it prepares to issue its highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO).
Lynn Laverty Elsenhans, former chair, president and CEO of fuel distributor Sunoco, is to join the world’s largest oil company’s board at a crucial time in its history.
Elsenhans is also the former executive vice president of global manufacturing for Royal Dutch Shell and sits on the board of GlaxoSmithKline.
She is the only woman to sit on the board, which has also appointed two government figures alongside the former Chevron Philips Chemical president and CEO Peter Cella and Andrew Liveris, formerly the executive chairman of DowDuPont and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company.
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Elsenhans’ appointment is indicative of Saudi Arabia’s continuing drive to revamp its conservative image. Last month Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to visit Britain on a charm offensive showing the kingdom was open for business.
However, the IPO plans have been far from smooth. There are rumours the plans could be delayed until 2019, when the world was assured it would take place in the second half of this year. The setbacks are largely owing to the fact that Saudi officials can’t decide on whether to choose London or New York.
If it goes ahead, the IPO is expected to be one of the largest share offerings ever, if Aramco’s target valuation of $2 trillion (£1.5 trillion) is achieved.
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