Shell prepares to replace chief Ben van Beurden

Shell is seeking a new chief executive to replace Ben van Beurden as the 64-year-old prepares to step down after almost a decade at the helm of Europe's biggest oil and gas company. The contenders include frontrunner Wael Sawan, who leads Shell's integrated gas and renewables division, Huibert Vigeveno, head of Shell's downstream business, Zoe Yujnovich, head of upstream, and Sinead Gorman, chief financial officer, the people said. In July, van Beurden told the Financial Times that succession was "Not the order of the day" but talked extensively about his legacy as chief executive. The Dutch executive, who has spent his entire 39-year career at Shell, has also faced criticism, not least in his native Netherlands where a court last year ruled that Shell needed to cut emissions faster. Analysts speculated at the time that Wetselaar, who went on to become chief executive of the Spanish oil and gas group Cepsa, had left once it was clear he would not get the top job at Shell.

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