THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (UK): Shell urges support for chief's pay rise: Van der Veer, who took over as managing chairman last March in the wake of Shell's shock admission that it had overstated its proven oil and gas reserves by 25 per cent, earned a basic salary of 1.12m (£772,000) in 2003: His total pay package came to just 1.13m after the company scrapped annual bonuses in the wake of the reserves scandal. (ShellNews.net) 20 Feb 05
By Sylvia Pfeifer (Filed: 20/02/2005)
Shell, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, has launched a campaign to win support from leading shareholders to approve a significant rise in pay for its chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer.
Executives from Shell are understood to have met leading British institutional shareholders last week to discuss the plans for a new pay and bonus scheme. The move follows the company's historic decision last October to end its 97-year-old dual corporate structure and merge its two operating companies to create one UK-listed group.
Under the plans being discussed, van der Veer would see his salary rise significantly. This would reflect his move from being the managing chairman of a holding company to the role of chief executive of a publicly listed group and one of the largest members of the FTSE100 index.
Shareholders are also being canvassed about a new bonus package for Shell's executives.
"Jeroen will get a respectable pay rise which will make him competitive with other FTSE100 chief executives," said one executive close to the process.
Shell's executives have historically been among the lowest paid managers in the oil industry. Van der Veer, who took over as managing chairman last March in the wake of Shell's shock admission that it had overstated its proven oil and gas reserves by 25 per cent, earned a basic salary of 1.12m (£772,000) in 2003.
His total pay package came to just 1.13m after the company scrapped annual bonuses in the wake of the reserves scandal.
By contrast, Lord Browne, BP's highly regarded chief executive, earned a total of £3.2m in 2003.
Executives at Shell are aware of the need to increase van der Veer's salary, but are also concerned about not offending Dutch sensitivities towards what are seen as Anglo-Saxon style pay packages.