John hofmeister shell oil biography of alberta news

He gave the keynote address at our 60th Annual Meeting in His address was a passionate defense of our industry. Below are excerpts from an obituary that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on June While many oil executives shunned public debates, he relished them. His openness to discussion set him up for tricky questions.

In May , Katie Couric of NBC News asked him on air whether he "could feel the pain that consumers were feeling," and whether he might "unilaterally decrease the wholesale value of gasoline. Hofmeister was ready: "Well, Katie, we do feel the pain. All of our employees pay the same price that every other consumer pays for gas. Hofmeister, who had been under treatment for melanoma, died May 24 in Houston.

He was The second of seven children, John Daniel Hofmeister was born Jan. He joined General Electric Co. Royal Dutch Shell hired him in as its international human-resources chief.

Hofmeister is the former president of Shell Oil, as well as the founder of Citizens for Affordable Energy.

He pledged to "transform the current male-dominated and overwhelmingly British and Dutch" senior-management team by bringing in more women and other nationalities. When he became president of the U. Eager to shed what he called the industry's "introverted culture" and "wall of silence" on controversial matters, he organized a city tour to meet with governors, mayors and consumers.

He continued trying to explain the industry after retiring from Shell in at age