“It will be interesting to see what happens next. If Ollila (right) did not disclose his Luxembourg interests to the authorities, this was presumably because he did not declare them for tax purposes either. So when others within the companies that he leads commit breaches of inconvenient laws, they can presumably use the justification that they are only following the example of their chairman. Since Ollila does not have any oil industry specific skills to offer, the only reason for his role as chairman is to provide leadership and to set an example as a role model. As such, his conviction for breaking securities laws should be seen as gross or wilful negligence. I presume that he will be resigning before the AGM.” It is almost exactly 10 years since another dishonest Royal Dutch Shell Chairman, Sir Phil Watts, resigned in disgrace.
By John Donovan
Jorma Ollila, the Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Plc has been fined by market regulators for failing to disclose his ownership and control of a company in Luxembourg worth 8.2 million euros. He has admitted breaking the law. He prefers to call it “neglecting the law.”
It is therefore interesting to reflect on his past comments about transparency and trust.
The following extracts are all taken from a speech he made as Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell Plc on 1 November 2012.
Extract