Ceri Powell
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Ceri Michele Powell (born July 1963) is a Welsh
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
and businesswoman who worked for
Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
from 1990 to 2020.


Education

The daughter of a manager at
Milford Haven Milford Haven ( cy, Aberdaugleddau, meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau") is both a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, an estuary forming a natural harbour that has ...
oil refinery (and chairman of the
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others bei ...
Authority), Powell grew up in
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...
and trained as a geologist. Inspired by the example of Dame May Ogilvie Gordon, one of the first female geologists, Powell studied for a BSc in geology at the
University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
and then pursued a PhD (awarded in 1990), sponsored by Shell, at
Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...
, studying
inversion Inversion or inversions may refer to: Arts * , a French gay magazine (1924/1925) * ''Inversion'' (artwork), a 2005 temporary sculpture in Houston, Texas * Inversion (music), a term with various meanings in music theory and musical set theory * ...
tectonics Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents k ...
and the reactivation of extensional faults as Compressional thrusts.


Shell career

After joining Shell (her first post was as a regional geologist in the central and southern
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
), Powell worked in the UK, Angola, Malaysia, the Netherlands (she was appointed to head Shell's competitive intelligence team in 2000, and then became business advisor to the Shell's Upstream CEO), a ground-breaking position at the time before business advisors were the norm. She was appointed as VP exploration for the Middle East, Caspian and South Asia from 2004 to 2008, and represented Shell on boards of multiple joint ventures in the regions, including in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan. She was then made VP of Global Strategy for Shell until late 2009. She was appointed Executive Vice President Exploration, Shell Upstream International in 2009, then in 2013 became the Global Head of Exploration. She deeply believes in a visible personal safety leadership presence - “Boots on the Ground”, as demonstrated in remote operations from Albania to Myanmar. In 2017, she was appointed as managing director of Brunei Shell Petroleum and Country Chair of Shell companies in Brunei, accountable for production of over 300,000boe/day, 4000 staff with 18,000 business partners, under the guidance of the chairman of BSP, Crown Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah. In August 2020, Powell stepped down as MD of BSP and country chair after 31 years of an international career.


Other roles

Powell sat for three years on the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
advisory board for Sustainable Energy for All, chaired by the
UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of the Un ...
. She has twice featured on the ''
Fortune Magazine ''Fortune'' is an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City. It is published by Fortune Media Group Holdings, owned by Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon. The publication was founded by Henry Luce in 1929. The ...
'' Most Powerful Women list, in 2013, ranked number 21 in 2014, and has been a strong advocate of increasing female involvement in industry. In 2015, she was described as one of the top six most powerful women in oil and gas. In November 2014 Powell was awarded an honorary doctorate from Heriot-Watt University for services to geoscience and in 2015 she was made an honorary fellow at her alma mater, Cardiff University. In April 2014, Powell was appointed as a non-executive director of
Carillion Carillion plc was a British multinational construction and facilities management services company headquartered in Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, prior to its liquidation in January 2018. Carillion was created in July 1999, following a ...
serving on the audit, remuneration, nomination and business integrity committees, and chairing the sustainability committee in 2015. She resigned with effect from 31 March 2017. Following the company's 2018 liquidation, in January 2021 the Insolvency Service said it would seek to ban eight former Carillion directors, including Powell, from holding senior boardroom positions.


Personal life

Powell is married to Ajay Shah, another senior energy industry gas marketing professional, and, after living in
The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
and Brunei she now lives in
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. She also has a UK base in the
Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...
. Her non-work interests include skiing, scuba diving, yoga, and the connection between geology and gardening, having gained her
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
accreditation in 2013.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Ceri Living people 1963 births Shell plc Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Cardiff University People from Pembrokeshire Welsh geologists