Wael Sawan

Wael Sawan (Arabic: وائل صوان; born 1974) is a Lebanese-Canadian business executive, and the CEO of Shell plc since January 2023.

Early life and education Sawan was born in Beirut in 1974. He grew up in Dubai, and earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from McGill University in Canada.

He has dual Lebanese and Canadian nationality.

Career Sawan joined Shell in 1997 as an engineer with Petroleum Development Oman . He later served as Managing Director and Chairman of Qatar Shell, where he oversaw Shell's business in Qatar, including its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) operations. He rose to become head of Shell's integrated gas and renewables division, and succeeded Ben van Beurden as CEO on 1 January 2023.

Sawan received a pay packet of £7.9 million ($10.1 million) for 2023, having become chief executive at the start of 2023 on an annual salary of £1.4 million (not including other compensation). In 2025, Sawan's total compensation from Shell was £13.8 million, an increase of 60% from the £8.6 million he received in 2024.

Under Sawan, Shell has focused on share buybacks with a mission of narrowing the gap with US-domiciled energy majors. Shell is currently spending $3.5 billion a quarter on buybacks. Buybacks have run at $3 billion or more for 14 quarters in a row.

On 3 august 2026, Sawan announced a retreat from renewable energies for Shell and the sale of onshore renewable energy operations to TotalEnergies.

Personal life Sawan is married to Nicole, and they have three sons.