Wael Sawan

Wael Sawan (Arabic: وائل صوان ; born 1974) is a Lebanese-Canadian business executive, and the CEO of Shell plc^[1] since January 2023.

Wael Sawan
Sawan in 2010
Born	1974 (age 50–51) Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	Lebanese and Canadian
Education	McGill University (MEng) Harvard University (MBA)
Title	CEO, Shell plc
Term	January 2023-
Predecessor	Ben van Beurden
Spouse	Nicole Sawan
Children	3 sons

Early life and education

Sawan was born in Beirut in 1974.^[2] He grew up in Dubai, and earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from McGill University in Canada.^[2] He took a career break and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.^[3]

He has dual Lebanese and Canadian nationality.^[4]

Career

Sawan joined Shell in 1997 as an engineer with Petroleum Development Oman.^[3] In the mid-2000s he was country chair in Qatar, overseeing the planning and early stages of the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GtL) project.^{[citation needed]} He rose to become head of Shell's integrated gas and renewables division, and succeeded Ben van Beurden as CEO on 1 January 2023.^[4] 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.^[5]

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.^[6]

Personal life

Sawan is married to Nicole, and they have three sons.^[2]