Qatar Shell Women's Network 2011 Leadership Forum attracts senior speakers from around the world

Buthaina Al-Ansari, Founder and Chairperson of Qatariat T&D Holding Company, Head of Strategic Planning, QTEL and Board member of the Qatari Business Women Forum, gave insights on her success as a woman entrepreneur in Qatar and the Gulf, and encouraged women that they can “be complete women, true to their culture and family, as well as successful leaders, entrepreneurs, and business people“.

 Ann Pickard, Executive Vice President and Country Chair for Shell Australia, described by Fortune Magazine as the bravest woman in the oil & gas industry and one of the 50 most powerful women in business, shared her leadership journey, explaining that women have opportunities now that they did not have in the past. She explained that the most successful companies now and in the future are those which have diversity and inclusion as core to their way of working.

Buthaina Al-Ansari and Ann Pickard were joined by Wael Sawan, Vice President for Commercial, New Business Development and LNG, and Natalie Mendez Rodriguez, Operations Petroleum Engineer SRAK, Saudi Arabia, on an interactive panel discussion. Hosted by Maryam al Kaabi, Learning Manager for Qatar Shell, and Sherry Duhe, Manager of Strategy and Planning for Qatar Shell, the discussion considered the direction provided by Qatar’s National Vision 2030, the role of women in society, economy and industry, the expectations of women today and the growing role of women in the energy industry. The panel and the participants recognized the important role of many inspiring female role models in Qatar.

Since Shell operates in over 140 countries employees can expect to come into contact with colleagues from all over the world. Shell’s development programmes encourage every individual to explore their potential and to reach their own personal goals. Diversity and Inclusion, together with Qatarization, are managed as critical business activities. Valuing contributions from every member of the team and positively leveraging the cultural and personal differences of the employees is core to the corporate culture.

Speaking at the close of the forum Clare Harris, Shell’s Vice President Gas Development and Technical and the network’s sponsor said “Our commitment for the development of women goes hand in hand with our passion for development of people in Qatar. We have had fantastic success in recruiting some incredibly talented women from Qatar and I am so proud of how far they have come in our organization in that time. Recognizing talent and encouraging an inclusive and respectful working environment is key to our success.”