Gail Klintworth, former Chief Sustainability Officer for Unilever and Director at the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, has agreed to join Shell Foundation’s Board of Trustees as Chair, effective 2 January 2019.

Gail brings almost 30 years’ experience working for Unilever, where she helped establish the group as a leader in corporate, social and environmental stewardship. She previously led Unilever’s Global Savoury business, served as CEO of Unilever South Africa and worked in various senior roles in human resources, sales and marketing across Unilever’s foods, home care and personal care businesses.

Subsequently, Gail served on the executive team and emerging markets board for Old Mutual PLC where she helped build their Positive Futures Plan, encouraging inclusive growth and responsible investment. She now serves as a non-executive director and adviser to boards, leaders and entrepreneurs to drive business solutions to ‘shared prosperity.’

Gail also serves as Special Adviser: Special Economic Zones and Clusters to SYSTEMIQ, a B-Corporation that  works with leaders to achieve the UN and Paris sustainability targets and incubates new business solutions to drive rapid system change.

“We are delighted and proud to welcome Gail as Chair of our Board of Trustees,” said Sam Parker, Director of Shell Foundation. “Gail is a true pioneer of sustainable development with extensive experience in how businesses can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

“In the role of Chair, we will benefit from her leadership, her eye for innovation and critical business thinking, as well as connecting  our work with that of aligned partners in the social investment and development community. We very much look forward to working with her.”

“It’s a privilege to be invited to Chair the Board of Trustees of the Shell Foundation, enabling entrepreneurs with solutions in energy access and mobility,” said Gail.

“I strongly believe that we need to find and magnify business solutions for Africa and Asian development challenges in these sectors if we are to solve some of the big global challenges. The opportunities are bountiful and creative, often simply needing scale. I look forward to helping the team to build enduring success.”

Gail replaces Maxime Verhagen, who served as Acting Chair of Shell Foundation since 2017 and stepped down from the Board in December 2018.

The whole Shell Foundation team would like to welcome Gail to the new role and thank Maxime for his remarkable dedication and efforts over his time as a Trustee.