Shell mulls former BHP chief as new chairman
Former BHP Billiton boss Sir Andrew Mackenzie is in pole position to become the next chairman of Shell, reports emerged today.
Mackenzie joined the Shell board this month as a non-executive director but is expected to move into the chair soon to be vacated by Charles Holliday.
The Sunday Telegraph first reported the news.
The oil giant was forced into its first dividend cut in more than 70 years earlier this year thanks to the oil price crash and the coronavirus pandemic.
Sir Andrew, a Scot who began his career as a research scientist, is credited with a successful shift away from fossil fuels at BHP, a trick he would be expected to repeat from the boardroom at Shell.
The firm’s boss Ben van Beurden has committed the Anglo-Dutch institution to becoming a ‘net zero’ carbon emitter.
The institution emerged as a surprise bidder last week for the Post Office’s broadband division, as it increasingly looks to diversify out of energy.
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