Within the pages of CIONET Cookbook No. 3, discover a compilation of success recipes shared by 21 of today’s most influential and dynamic information technology leaders across all business sectors. This unique volume presents new recipes for digital success based on CIONET TV interviews with top digital leaders across Europe.
Right now, it’s clear that we all face extraordinary technical and business challenges. This third edition of the Cookbook presents further insights into the best practices required to flourish in a new digital era.
Robbert Van Rutten is harnessing the power of digital to fast-track Shell’s journey towards clean energy products and its goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions.
Robbert Van Rutten is a graduate in business economics and has an MBA in business studies. He has spent 32 years at Shell and has worked across a range of functions, including accounting, marketing and most recently IT. In 2020, he was appointed CIO of downstream operations. In July 2023, he was elevated to the position of global CIO, which encompasses exploration, production, trading and all customer activities.
Shell is a British multinational energy company headquartered in London. It is the second largest investor-owned energy company in the world. Shell was formed in 1907 through the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading. By 1920, Shell was the world’s largest producer of oil. Today, the company is active in every area of the oil and gas industry. It has operations in over 70 countries, a staff of 93,000 people, and 46,000 retail outlets.
Shell turns energy assets, such as oil, gas and renewable energy, into downstream products for business and consumer customers. Robbert says there are three strategic challenges facing the business: access to energy assets, affordability of energy products, and the need to reduce carbon emissions. He believes technology can assist Shell in dealing with these three challenges, which he refers to as a “Trilemma”.
Robbert also emphasises Shell’s passion for its business (B2B) and retail (B2C) customers. Each customer in every sector has different requirements. However, he believes digital technologies can support innovation and enable Shell to retain market leadership. Robbert says customers should have the same experience regardless of channel, which he refers to as “a B2C experience in a B2B world”. To deliver on this promise, he has helped Shell to introduce its MarketHub customer portal.
Shell supports the ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit the rise in global average temperature this century to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Today, the business is pursuing a strategic transformation via the adoption of sustainable business practices and the development of low carbon products. For example, Shell has introduced electric charging points at many of its 46,000 retail outlets. Across the business sectors it serves, Shell is tuning its products to meet the sustainability needs of its key customers, such as major airlines.
Robbert says technology has a crucial role to play in carbon emissions. IT can also be harnessed to have a positive impact on sustainability. Shell is already using technology to help reduce greenhouse emissions. For example, AI is being used to optimise plant and supply chain operations, while blockchain techniques can be used to achieve a transparent tracking of the environmental attributes of energy products.
Robbert recognises the historic priority of Shell’s IT department was to provide a secure and reliable service to the business. However, IT today is focused on supporting innovation across the business’ commercial products. Robbert has introduced Agile methods that enable his IT staff to work with the business to continuously improve their innovative offerings.
This Agile process includes the generation of minimum viable products that can be scaled to meet the demands of global markets. At the heart of this approach is the recognition that IT can help “reimagine” how the company operates, whether that’s in terms of business process redesign, data management or the use of cloud-first platforms. In all these areas, IT needs to adopt flexibility to support business agility.
Robbert has sought to bring IT capability in-house during the past few years in several key areas, such as cybersecurity, software development and enterprise architecture. This insourcing helps IT respond quickly to fresh business demands. The IT organisation is split into four components: CIOs within each business set strategy; operations teams “follow the sun”; IT engineers provide resources that meet local business requirements; and corporate teams look after key line-of-business functions.
Robbert is clear that digital means data, especially in the customer context. He is keen to drive value from IT by understanding where data sits and how it can be mobilised. Shell has mature ERP systems that support its global business operations. However, Robbert believes process standardisation through the use of AI and API interfaces can lead to higher levels of value from technology across the globe. He also believes it’s important to “fall in love with the experience, not the technology”. One of Robbert’s big bets is on low code/no code, which he hopes will transform Shell’s internal culture. Robbert strongly believes that the digital realm is intrinsically tied to data, cross application integration strategy and partnering across ecosystems. To accelerate digital innovation, open-source standards and interfaces are becoming increasingly important.
Defining the qualities of a Master Chef
Robbert says the CIO role is evolving rapidly from a concentration on cost-based management to a focus on delivering business value. He views the modern CIO as a digital leader and an advocate for business change. The successful CIO is both an integrator and an orchestrator, working alongside their line-of-business peers.
One of Robbert’s priorities is to acquire, develop and retain top talent. He has introduced a quarterly reward scheme that recognises and promotes excellence. He believes top talent responds to a clear strategic vision that conveys purpose, such as the journey to net zero. He describes the current era of IT as “a moment of light” where current and next-generation digital leaders can use their capabilities to make a genuine difference to society.