Shell Canada encourages employees to be the best version of themselves, including spreading positivity for their local community.Provided
When Stastia West was appointed as a vice-president for Shell Canada Ltd. in early 2023, it was the latest move in a career that has taken her to Brisbane, Australia; Houston, Texas and back home to Calgary.
And at every step, West says, she’s been encouraged to build on her strengths and challenged to take on opportunities that sometimes felt a little out of her comfort zone. Fortunately, no one at Shell is ever expected to accomplish difficult tasks all by themselves – you always have a team around you to lean on, West says.
“I had people who took a chance on me and gave me stretch assignments to develop new skills,” she says. “But whatever problem you may have, it’s likely somebody at Shell has already experienced the same thing. And there are so many great people who are willing to coach, mentor, offer wise advice and sometimes, just as important, simply listen.
“Shell truly is a company where people work together to achieve great things.”
West is with Shell’s Integrated Gas business where she’s now ensuring others have their own opportunities to grow. Her wide-ranging responsibilities include the development of both the field and office employees of Shell Canada’s various integrated gas operations. This includes those who are part of Shell’s involvement in the LNG Canada joint venture.
Indeed, mentoring is such a high priority that “collaborate with experienced colleagues” is one of the four pillars of Shell’s employee value proposition, known as Power Your Progress.
It’s a nod to Shell’s Powering Progress strategy. The company has set a target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050.
Shell has extensive experience in producing and marketing liquefied natural gas (LNG) globally and is the lead investor in LNG Canada, a massive export facility under construction on the B.C. coast near Kitimat. When complete, it will ship LNG to Asia to replace coal and other high-carbon fuels.
Shell Canada president and country chair Susannah Pierce says this means Canada has a significant role to play in helping Shell – and the world – with the necessary energy transition.
“We have the luxury in Canada of having an abundance of low-carbon natural gas at our fingertips,” says Pierce. “We have an obligation to use it as wisely, efficiently and as fast as we can.
“By exporting Canadian LNG, we’re supporting the energy transition where society stops adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and begins reducing them.”
LNG, in fact, represents just one of Shell Canada’s nationwide operations. They include everything from exploration, gas production, refining and manufacturing to providing fuels and developing low-carbon energy solutions.
Pierce says she’s inspired by how employees tackle a key challenge, advancing decarbonization, while meeting customers’ current needs with enthusiasm and ingenuity every day.
She attributes this in part to how Shell’s values resonate with employees. The other pillars of Shell’s employee value proposition include the opportunity to grow skills by working on the forefront of technology, supporting the energy transition, and a values-led culture where honesty, integrity and respect encourage people to be the best version of themselves.
“People want to connect to something bigger than themselves,” Pierce says. “They want to know a company’s values are consistent with their own and are a force for good.”
That’s certainly the case for West. “I wouldn’t be here if Shell’s values weren’t aligned with my own,” she says. “What we do here really matters for the rest of the world.”
More from Canada’s Top 100 Employers
Advertising feature produced by Canada’s Top 100 Employers, a division of Mediacorp Canada Inc. The Globe and Mail’s editorial department was not involved.