Pease Heads Shell Trading
Bob Pease knows very well the challenges of
trying to meet the world's daily needs for oil. He faces those
challenges as an international business leader involved in a high
stakes profession he describes as very complex.
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Bob Pease, President
Shell Trading |
In his job as president of Shell Trading (US)
Company (STUSCO) and vice president of operations for Shell Trading
globally, Pease focuses on how STUSCO conducts its business from
meeting customer requirements to making sure that employees adhere
to strict laws and policies while adding value to the bottom line.
As vice president for trading operations, Pease sets international
objectives in an organization where employees manage the worldwide
movement of oil and natural gas for Shell.
Even before graduating from Rose-Hulman in 1980
with a chemical engineering degree, Pease recalls that he began to
enjoy learning about the business side of engineering. That interest
led him to earn a minor in economics that was to be the springboard
to a highly successful career.
It was just over a year after graduation that
Pease had the opportunity to move from process engineering to a
position where he could experience how economics drives business
decisions. He was interested in models, but not the type that most
engineers first consider.
“I was initially involved in economic modeling
for our refinery, and later on in investment modeling and analysis
of production, supply and trading,” he recalled. “I worked with
traders who had to make informed, but quick decisions. Often, those
decisions dealt with which crudes to purchase and when to buy a ship
load of crude that could have a value of more than $100 million,”
Pease said.
He says the complexity of the energy business
results, in part, from the challenges to produce, trade, and ship
the product in a commodity-based, worldwide market.
“It’s an extremely competitive business where
you must solve inefficiencies in the marketplace to maximize value
from commercial deals,” stated Pease, who is located in Houston,
Texas. “Supply and trading activities are a critical component of an
efficient market. The service we provide directly benefits consumers
by supplying markets with the most cost-efficient sources of
products.” He oversees more than 300 operations employees in about a
dozen offices around the world, as well as approximately 450
employees of STUSCO, who are mainly located in Houston.
Pease places a high value on ethical business
practices, and spends considerable time ensuring that the company
maintains the highest standards of compliance with all applicable
laws and regulations.
“We’re a highly regulated industry. I focus
much of my attention on how we do our work, how we conduct
business,” said the Terre Haute native, whose family still lives
about a mile from the Rose-Hulman campus.
When asked about the challenge of his worldwide
responsibilities, Pease said Rose-Hulman taught him several vital
skills. “At Rose, you’re taught to be good at handling multiple
tasks simultaneously. You have to be able to gather critical
information quickly, analyze it in a complex environment, and take
action. And, my technical education has been invaluable in
understanding a broad range of issues and providing advice to
employees ranging from traders to refinery management, to global
executives.”
Pease said today’s Rose-Hulman graduate has to
be prepared to compete in a global workplace. “The good news is that
competition between companies for top talent is fierce. The
challenge is that graduates must be ready to deliver value in a
global market that is evolving rapidly,” he advised.
According to Pease, lifelong learning is a core
component of a successful career. ”Training and development of
employees must be continuous and vital,” he stated. “In our
operations, we are consistently developing new programs to retain
staff and improve skills, and to create opportunities to identify
and attract the best talent possible.”
Pease noted that Shell is committed to creating
the next generation of cleaner, alternative energy sources. “Shell
is among the top three consumers of ethanol for transportation fuels
in the U.S. The company also is creating new applications to utilize
liquefied natural gas and to convert gas from around the world, and
solid fuels that are abundant in North America into liquid fuels, he
said.
Pease still values his Vigo County roots, and
connection to Rose-Hulman. He recently attended his first meeting as
a new member of the Rose-Hulman Alumni Association Advisory Board.
“When my career life is over, my wife and I
intend to come back to Vigo County,” said Pease, whose wife Terri
attended Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. “My family tells me a
piece of the homestead is still available to me.”
Makes one wonder if Bob Pease might just try to
grow some renewable fuels on that property.
