Shell Aviation names Jan Toschka as president, Shell to simplify structure

Shell Aviation announced the appointment of Jan Toschka as president, taking over from Anna Mascolo, who is moving into a senior leadership position in Shell’s Downstream business. 

“I’m proud of what we have achieved over the past two years, working with customers and partners across the aviation sector to help build the momentum necessary to accelerate decarbonisation whilst managing the unprecedented operational and business challenges of Covid-19. The business is resilient and ideally positioned to support our customers and the sector with the broad range of decarbonisation solutions necessary to navigate energy transition and deliver on its net zero ambition,” said Mascolo.

Mascolo will move to Shell Downstream as SVP Acquisitions, Divestments and New Business Development.

Toschka brings to Shell Aviation broad leadership experience in energy transition, global marine, mobility as well as wholesale energy businesses. Since joining Shell in 1998, Toschka has amassed over 20 years’ experience in customer-facing roles across Downstream, Gas and Power, and Marine. 

“I’m excited to lead Shell Aviation into this pivotal moment,” said Toschka. “As an industry leader, our ambition is not only to continue collaborating with our customers and partners but also to provide more sustainable products and solutions to help the industry decarbonize. I’m especially looking forward to delivering on our ambition to produce two million tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) per year by 2025, supported by the bold action we’re taking to transform our refinery assets to produce the SAF our customers want and need.”

Shell proposes to simplify share structure

In related company news, the Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc announced a proposal to simplify the company’s share structure. Shell said this will strengthen Shell’s competitiveness and accelerate both shareholder distributions and the delivery of its strategy to become a net-zero emissions business.

Shareholders will vote on the special resolution to amend the Royal Dutch Shell plc Articles of Association to allow the simplification of the company’s structure on December 10, 2021, during the company’s General meeting which will be held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Under the proposal announced yesterday, Shell will change its share structure to establish a single line of shares. The company will also align its tax residence with its country of incorporation in the UK.

Shell has been incorporated in the UK, with Dutch tax residence and a dual share structure, since Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij and The Shell Transport and Trading Company were unified in 2005 under a single parent company. Royal Dutch Shell plc has two classes of shares, “A” and “B” shares. “A” shares and “B” shares have identical rights except in relation to the source of dividend income where “A” shares have a Dutch source and “B” shares are intended to have a UK source. “A” and “B” shares trade on both the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam and in the form of ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to Shell, a conventional single share structure will:

• Allow for an acceleration in distributions by way of share buybacks, as there will be a larger single pool of ordinary shares that can be bought back. Following the start of a USD2 billion buyback programme in July, Shell announced in September that it will return an additional USD7 billion to shareholders following completion of the sale of its Permian assets in the United States.
• Strengthen Shell’s ability to rise to the challenges posed by the energy transition, by managing its portfolio with greater agility.
• Reduce risk for shareholders by simplifying and normalising Shell’s share structure in line with its competitors and most other global companies. The current complex share structure is subject to constraints and may not be sustainable in the long term.

Royal Dutch Shell plc will change name to Shell plc

Following the simplification, shareholders will continue to hold the same legal, ownership, voting and capital distribution rights in Shell. Shares will continue to be listed in Amsterdam, London and New York (through the American Depository Shares programme), with FTSE UK index inclusion. It is fully expected that inclusion in the AEX index, a stock market index composed of Dutch companies that trade on Euronext Amsterdam, formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, will be maintained.

Shell’s corporate governance structure will remain unchanged. However, the company anticipates it will no longer meet the conditions for using the “Royal” designation following the proposed change. Therefore, subject to shareholder approval of the resolution, the Board expects to change the company’s name from Royal Dutch Shell plc to Shell plc.