René graduated with an MSc. in Electrical Engineering from Delft University of Technology in 1989 and also holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. He joined Shell in 1990 and has worked in the Netherlands, Gabon and the United Kingdom in various roles, including Manager for New Business Development, Upstream Corporate Strategy Adviser, Business Adviser to EVP Europe, Asset Development Leader in the UK Central North Sea, High Pressure/High Temperature development team leader, and various field development coordination and Reservoir Engineering assignments. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
René took his current role in Shell’s recently formed Technical & Competitive IT Business Unit in September 2009, which aims at delivering competitive IT solutions across Shell’s value chain. He is responsible for portfolio management, strategy and planning, and runs centres of expertise for High Performance Computing, Smart Solutions and for incubation of IT innovation opportunities. Rene has a passion for business driven technology solutions and is a strong proponent of industry driven open innovation.