Shell Plc’s outgoing Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden was paid £9.7 million last year, a jump of 53%, as the company made record profits from soaring fossil fuel prices.
(Bloomberg) — Shell Plc’s outgoing Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden was paid £9.7 million last year, a jump of 53%, as the company made record profits from soaring fossil fuel prices.
The payout was the last for van Beurden, who has handed the reins to Wael Sawan. The new CEO will have a base salary of £1.4 million this year and target bonus of 125% of that, according to Shell’s annual report.
“2022 has been a year full of challenge, but also of significant financial, operational and strategic achievements,” Shell said in the report published on Thursday. “This level of financial performance undoubtedly reflects macro-environmental conditions, but is enabled by disciplined operational delivery and the ongoing work to create a resilient and profitable portfolio.”
Shell’s executives are sharing in the benefits of the boom in oil and gas profits that they gave to their shareholders last year. Rank and file employees also saw a jump last year, with the vast majority getting a special 8% bonus last summer.
Part of the former CEO’s pay was in the form of shares that are subject to a three-year holding period. Shell’s stock is up about 11% this year and Sawan has said the company is currently undervalued.
(Adds detail on pay in last paragraph)
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