Philip Watts - Business Reputation

Business Reputation

Watts succeeded Sir Mark Moody-Stuart in mid-2001 as chairman of Shell's "Committee of Managing Directors". Within Shell this appointment was greeted with some surprise as the seemingly abrasive Watts was a contrast with his patrician predecessor. Externally the appointment was at first welcomed as a sign that Shell was going to move aggressively to reduce costs, however Watts soon fell into disfavour with Shell's institutional investors, in large part because he was seen as aloof and uncommunicative. This unpopularity was reflected inside Shell where many were privately critical of his aggressive form of management and poor communications style. His devotion to Shell could not be faulted and he wore a ring on his right hand which had been engraved with the Shell symbol, the pecten.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the Shell Centre for Sustainability at Houston's Rice University in March 2003, Watts spoke out forcefully in favor of Sustainable Development. Later that year he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to British business and to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development", which he served as chairman.