

Ann Pickard, who has transformed Royal Dutch Shell into the most aggressive oil and gas player in Australia, is set to leave her powerful Perth-based post to look after the Anglo-Dutch giant’s ambitions in the Arctic Circle.
Shell is thought to have informed staff overnight that the well-regarded Ms Pickard would quit Perth in June and move to the US, most likely Houston, to take up a newly created role as executive vice-president, Arctic.
The new role reflects Shell’s view that Ms Pickard is well suited to tackling the myriad technical and environmental challenges of operating in the Arctic Circle, based on her track record in Australia and before that Nigeria. Shell, which is due to report its first-quarter profit result on Thursday, yesterday would not comment on Ms Pickard’s move.