Shell CEO's Pay More Than Doubles in 2018

Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden’s total pay, including pension, more than doubled in 2018 compared to 2017.

The Shell boss received $23.79 million in 2018, up from $10.06 million in 2017, according to the company’s latest annual report, which was released on Thursday.

Shell’s Chief Financial Officer, Jessica Uhl, also received a total pay increase in 2018. Uhl was awarded $5.74 million last year, compared to $3.38 million in 2017.

Shell’s income attributable to shareholders in 2018 was $23.35 billion, up 80 percent on the figure of $12.97 billion posted for 2017. The company’s current cost of supply earnings attributable to shareholders, excluding identified items, was $21.40 billion in 2018, up 36 percent from the $15.76 billion recorded in 2017.

In a statement posted on Shell’s website back in January, Ben van Beurden said “Shell delivered a very strong financial performance in 2018”.

“We delivered on our promises for the year, including the completion of the $30 billion divestment program and starting up key growth projects while maintaining discipline on capital investment. We paid our entire dividend in cash, further reduced our debt and launched our share buyback program,” he added.

Ben van Beurden joined Shell in 1983 after graduating with a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. He became CEO on January 1, 2014. Jessica Uhl joined Shell in 2004 and has held finance leadership roles in Shell’s upstream, integrated gas and downstream businesses. She became Shell’s CFO and an executive director in March 2017.