"After my master's degree in Chemical Engineering at London University, I went straight to NAM in Groningen. I was just 23 and had never been to the Netherlands before, I was quite excited about working for Shell. But once inside, it felt like a warm bath. Everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming."

Work at a global level

"I have always wanted to work for a large international company like Shell, because then a single decision can have major effects at a global level and I like to have an impact with what I do. In the ten years I have now been working for Shell I have worked in four different disciplines; I worked both upstream and downstream, onshore and offshore and I was given the opportunity to specialise in process safety, process engineering, operational safety and project engineering. In my last position as Project Manager in Pernis, all things came together and there was a mix of all four disciplines. I am incredibly grateful that Shell has given me the opportunity to further develop myself in this field."

Future of the energy transition

"At Shell I see an incredible number of talented people in many different roles. I greatly enjoy meeting all these people from all over the world. Eventually I hope to progress to bigger and more complex projects with even more responsibility and, as an example, to build new plants linked to the energy transition. I am currently working on the Porthos project which enables us to store CO₂ underground in former offshore gas fields. Awesome. That is the future for energy transition."

You never know what's going to happen

"As much as I love my job, I enjoy life besides Shell. I will probably have to work for another thirty years, nevertheless I hope to enjoy my retirement and to make beautiful trips for another thirty years after that. I am a man who likes thinking ahead and planning things. So, from Shell's personal development budget, I did a financial consultation together with my wife. To exchange ideas and see what it would take to retire earlier. Of course, it remains difficult to look into the future. You never know what will happen in thirty years."