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Mumbai-born Dr Yasmine Hilton will be the new face of Shell Companies in India from November 1. She will be the first woman to head an energy company in India.
After 24 years, Mr Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman, Shell Companies in India, is stepping down with effect from October 31. Mr Mehta, who turns 60 this October, has himself decided to relinquish the post.
Dr Hilton joined the Shell Group in 1979. Now Head of IT, Downstream Businesses, she is based in London and will relocate to India in September.
A Ph.D in Genetics, Dr Hilton has worked in a number of leadership roles across the Shell Group.
Dr Hilton's task may not be easy, as policy decisions in India are largely governed by politics, an experience that her predecessor could share with her.
Non-fossil fuels are the key: Mehta
Mr Mehta has been advocating the importance of diversification of the fuel basket for ensuring India's energy security. “We know that India will remain dependent on imported hydrocarbons for the foreseeable future. We also know that the sine qua non of sustainable development is an energy system based on non-fossil fuels. Our challenge is to manage the short–medium term exposure to vicissitudes of the international petroleum market, and at the same time develop alternatives,” he has often been heard saying.
Not much information was available on Mr Mehta's next move. Since 1993, he has significantly enabled growth across diverse Shell businesses in India and has set a strong platform for future expansion, the company said.
Mr Mehta began his career in the Indian Administrative Services in 1978 and after a brief stint moved on to the private sector, joining Philips Petroleum in the US where he served for four years (1980-1984). He joined Shell in 1988.
He has held advisory positions in the Ministry of Petroleum and Oil India Ltd, a public sector undertaking, and is a part of the Hydrocarbon Committee for the India Vision 2020, a committee constituted by the PMO to chart India's energy future.
Shell today is amongst the largest energy companies in India and is the only major international energy company with a licence to retail auto and aviation fuels as well as market specialty products such as lubricants and bitumen.
It has one of the country's two LNG re-gasification terminals at Hazira (in a joint venture with Total of France) and has set up a technology centre in Bangalore.
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