Denise Neill (nee Forsyth)

Chemical Engineering BSc (Hons) 1989

Denise joined Shell in 1989. She was posted to Gabon, West Africa for 4 years, in a variety of Operations related roles, which was useful for learning how to solve Engineering problems in a remote, environmentally sensitive location. The next 20 years were spent in Aberdeen, UK, working on maturing, developing and implementing projects and modifications to increase oil production from North Sea platforms. A big focus in those years was optimising Engineering designs and Construction techniques to shape economically attractive projects, without compromising the safety of those working on, or living near the facilities.

In 2014, Denise relocated to Shell’s main technology centre in the Netherlands to oversee Shell’s projects being executed in Kazakhstan. The country contains vast oil reserves but has limited infrastructure, people, and is virtually land-locked, leading to enormous logistics challenges for all projects, as well as the cultural legacy from Kazakhstan’s Soviet past.  An insight into managing human change instead of Engineering change came from the next role, leading a team integrating Shell’s Projects and Engineering organisations. Denise is now back in the UK, in a more commercially focussed challenge overseeing Shell’s projects in the UK where Shell is an investor rather than an Operator.

Denise Neill
Denise Neill