Jeroen Van der Veer is the former Chief Executive (2004-09) of Royal Dutch Shell. He remained a non-executive Director at Shell until 2013.
He is a leading authority on energy, leadership and management, and his advice is widely sought by a range of industries. He held various positions during his 42 years of service with Royal Dutch Shell, and managed foreign posts in a number of key markets around the world.
He was Vice-Chairman and Senior Independent Director of Unilever and is currently Vice-Chairman of ING Group (since 2009) and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Philips (since 2011).
Van der Veer became a Managing Director of Shell Nederland in 1992. He led major restructuring initiatives, including a $2 billion upgrade of the Pernis refinery. In 1995, he moved to the United States as President and Chief Executive of Shell Chemical, and was appointed Group Managing Director in 1997. Chemicals remained one of his areas of responsibility and he oversaw the world-wide restructuring of the business. He took over as Chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and Shell Transport and Trading in 2004. Following the unification of these two companies into Royal Dutch Shell, he was appointed the Chief Executive of the new company, a position he held until he retired in June 2009. Van der Veer led Shell through major changes, simplifying governance and organisation, while clarifying accountabilities.
He was a Supervisory Board Member of the Dutch Central Bank, and World President of the Society of Chemical Industry (2002-04). Appointed Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2006-09), he was also Vice-Chairman of a group of experts who advised on a new strategic concept for NATO (2009-10). In 2012, he was appointed Chairman of New Energy Architecture WEF (World Economic Forum), a Member of the Executive Committee of the Governing Board of the EIT (European Institute of Technology), as well as Chairman of the Rotterdam Climate Initiative.
In addition to his current high profile roles, Van der Veer is also currently Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TU Delft, a member of the Supervisory Board of Concertgebouw N.V., a Committee Member of ‘Het Nationale Toneel’, Chairman of the Supervisory Council of ‘Het Nederlands Openluchtmuseum’, as well as Chairman of the Science and Technology Platform (Platform Beta Techniek), a governmental institute promoting education in science and technology.
