Shell Appoints Lebanese-Born Wael Sawan As CEO

Lebanese-Canadian Wael Sawan has just been appointed CEO of British multinational oil and gas company Shell as the current CEO Ben van Beurden steps down after 40 years.

Sawan was previously the head of gas and renewables at Shell, and he has communicated plans to steer the company away from oil toward clean sources of energy. Sawan will be leading the “green” transition with forward-thinking strategies after current CEO van Beurden departs by the end of this year.

Born in Beirut in 1974, Sawan grew up in Dubai with a dual Lebanese and Canadian nationality. He completed his master’s degree in chemical engineering at McGill University in Montreal and his MBA at Harvard Business School in Boston.

Sawan is well-acquainted with the market after working with Shell for 25 years, as he is the executive vice president for one of the company’s major energy extracting projects and is also responsible for the company’s operations in Qatar.

It is heartening to see Lebanese entrepreneurs and talents excel in their fields, make major contributions on a global scale, and reach such high positions in respected companies and institutions.