It is for imaginative headline writers to write cool headlines and it is for chief executives to execute business plans.

And that’s about all there is to it, as far as Linda Cook is concerned.

According to the headline writers, the newly minted CEO of Shell Canada is worthy of 72-point type as the celebrated groundbreaker of the oilpatch, and indeed, she is the world’s first woman to ever head an integrated oil and gas company.

Yet, Cook isn’t the least bit interested in playing on the first-woman angle. She seems to have this notion that running a $15-billion company actually takes precedence over the burning issue of gender.

Larry MacDougal photos, Business Edge
When growing up, Linda Cook imagined herself as a stay-at-home mom.

The U.S.-born 45-year-old coolly plays down the fact that she has taken the testosterone-charged Calgary oilpatch by storm.

During a 30-minute interview, she exhibits the classic characteristics of a born leader. She is smart, calm, modest, confident, unswerving, cautious, business-like and focused.

She is what her business card says – Chief Executive Officer. There is no better way to say it.

1. Where did you get your entrepreneurial spirit?

“My family was very entrepreneurial. My grandparents were German immigrants in the early 1900s. They came over with essentially nothing. My grandmother essentially travelled by herself at age 16, making the big trip across the ocean, and travelled by train half-way across the United States. My grandparents started a dairy business and my father and his family were all heavily involved. They became leading business people in the Kansas City area (Shawnee, Kans.). So, growing up in the family dairy business (Zarda Bros. Dairy), I got a very early taste of working in the corporate world. I was always dedicated to be successful and I think part of it is genetic. I always wanted to be the best that I could be.”

2. Who had the greatest influence on you during your childhood years?

“Definitely, my parents (Mickey and Tom Zarda). They were excellent role models in terms of values. They taught me the importance of working hard, the importance of dedication, of loyalty to the business, to family and to the community. I also learned about corroborating and learning to work together in a large family (she has five younger siblings). You could always count on the family to be there for you.”



3. After graduating from university with a petroleum engineering degree in 1980, why did you choose to join Shell Oil Company in Houston?

“That was one of the peaks of the oil industry. Graduating petroleum engineers had a multitude of job offers. I made the decision to join, even though I had offers from many other companies, because of the quality of the people, the company’s eye for technical excellence and technical leadership, and its reputation. Twenty-three years later, all of that has proven to be true and my views have not wavered.”

4. How do you reflect on your 23 years with the Royal Dutch/Shell Group and the obstacles you faced in being a woman in an industry dominated by men?

“You know, I don’t know if they were obstacles. They felt more like challenges and I think everyone has challenges in their career. Certainly, there was a challenge in the early days because there weren’t many women in the industry. But it’s hard for me to claim that it was an obstacle because look at me now – 23 years with the company and I’m 45 years old and here I am. I would say being a part of a two-career family is a huge challenge (husband Steve Cook is a former gas trader). I would say that in the early days I never envisioned that I would work this long, quite frankly, because I just didn’t have the mindset that I would do it. I never imagined it, but we were able to do it. I also never imagined that doing it would be as hard as it was because there were always choices to be made about relocations, about who was getting home in time to fix the kids’ dinner or who was travelling the next week.”

5. As a young petroleum engineer, you were once stopped by a foreman from entering a jobsite.

“Thankfully, I think those days are long gone in our industry. But in the early days for me, I was, for many men, the first experience of working with a woman in the industry. In many cases, I would describe it as discomfort, because they’d never had a woman on their team. And I was not necessarily comfortable being in a room full of men all the time. I think I worked hard to not wear my gender on my sleeve and to make sure the focus was on what I brought to the team and my performance and not my gender. And I think that helped people accept me as an equal, as a colleague and as a contributing team member. And the more I delivered and the more I did well, the easier it was for men to get their minds around the fact that Linda was just part of the team.”

6. What’s your best advice for women embarking on a career in the oilpatch?

“My advice would be no different for a woman than for a man. First, enjoy what you’re doing because it’s going to be hard work. My advice to anyone is to select a career that you enjoy and, if you don’t enjoy it, seriously consider doing something different. Then, do your best and deliver. The best thing that anyone could do to be successful is to deliver the desired results.”

7. What do you think you’d be doing today if you hadn’t gotten into the oil and gas business?

“For a while, I majored in education and I majored in chemical engineering and I majored in math. So it could have been a career in one of those, or I could have been a stay-at-home mom. That’s what I thought I would be when I was growing up.”

8. What was your first thought when you were offered the job as Shell Canada’s CEO?

“It (my reaction) had nothing to do with Shell Canada but my focus at the time was on the job I was doing (as CEO of Shell Gas & Power). I was having great fun and it was a wonderful position. So, I was just surprised about moving at all. But that has happened to me many times in my career because I always like what I’m doing and I always get very focused and involved in the job at hand. It’s always hard to stop and think about what’s next. I’ve never been one to look far into the future with respect to my career. I’ve always taken it one step at a time. Immediately, with the opportunity at Shell Canada, I could see the positives associated with the news, for my family and for me.”

9. What’s your impression of Calgary’s business environment?

“It’s fantastic. I would say the community is very supportive of industry, they’re very supportive of new people joining the community and we’ve found that in all aspects of life in Calgary – in our school, in our neighbourhood and here at the office.”

10. How do you think your vision for Shell Canada will differ from that of your predecessor, Tim Faithfull?

“I wouldn’t expect any major changes in direction. It’s a great company, it’s very sound financially, it has wonderful people and it has a fantastic reputation. So, I think it would surprise anyone if I came in and had a major change in direction. We have our own share of challenges just like anyone does in the industry and they need to be addressed, but we have wonderful opportunities ahead of us.”

11. What are your top priorities for your first year on the job?

“I won’t go into a lot of detail because I’ve not yet had a broad session where I’ve talked about this.

“I would say that, as with any job I’ve been in, and as is true in all the various companies in which Shell plays a major role, excellence in safety and excellence in environmental performance are always important for Shell Canada – and continuing the successful startup of the Athabasca Oil Sands project is very, very important to us. The capital investment is largely behind us at this point, but we still face the challenge of ensuring that we’re going to be an efficient operator.”

12. Is Shell Canada interested in the Canadian assets of Anadarko Petroleum, as has been widely speculated?

“(Laughing) I don’t think you’ll be surprised if I don’t comment on that. We’ll just have to leave it at that.”

13. Were you surprised by the rumour?

“It was one of many stories about Anadarko that had been in the papers over the past weeks and months. From time to time, there’s always speculation that Shell is going to buy someone, so I’m never surprised to see things like that from time to time in the press.”

14. What’s your view of how the industry as a whole is doing in terms of responsibility with greenhouse gas emissions?

“I think the oil industry in general around the world has made much progress in the last 10 years. Some companies more than others are getting more efficient as an industry, driven not just by environmental pressures, but also by competitive pressure as the industry matures. I think we’re starting to come more to grips with the fact that good environmental performance is not a choice. It’s a requirement if we’re to be in this industry, and I’m proud to work for a company that has taken that seriously for many, many years. Kyoto and other policies are for governments to decide and our role as an international company (Royal Dutch/Shell) and our role in Shell Canada is to comply in the most efficient way we can with the rules, regulations and policies that have been put in place by the government.”

15. How would you describe your leadership style?

“I believe there are several important dimensions to good leadership. I think it’s important that the leader understand the business, understand the competitive environment, understand where the industry is headed and then set a clear strategy for the organization, communicate it and make sure there is quick and efficient execution of that strategy. So delivering the desired results is important to me and something I remain quite focused on. At the same time, I think there’s an important role leaders play when it comes to talent development and succession planning, and that’s probably the other area where I spend a lot of time ensuring there is quality bench strength of the leadership in the organization.”

16. What do you need to learn to become a better CEO?

“I always find I have lots to learn, especially when I change jobs, because you need to get to know the industry if you don’t already and you need to get to know the people on your team very well so you know where the strengths and weaknesses are in the organization.”

“And you need to understand the competitive challenges that are out there.”

17. How difficult has it been for you in balancing business and personal life?

“It’s harder than I ever imagined. It’s harder than anyone could ever have described it to me. The trick is having a very, very supportive partner who has an open mind about discussing the various opportunities that the family is presented with. We’ve been very fortunate to have a number of wonderful choices to make and a number of wonderful options. Usually, in my free time, we’re doing family things. When we were overseas, our favourite thing was to travel together and every trip that my husband and I have taken, I think with the exception of one, we’ve taken together with all the children.”

18. Is your husband working?

“He works very, very hard (in the home caring for the children). He worked until five years ago when he left his position as a gas trader. He left that position and then we moved overseas. He’s going to go back to work at some point and we’re still waiting for that day to come. You know, I think I have an advantage in some respects in that I have a partner who generally understands the industry and the pressures of being an executive, the tough decisions that need to be made and the stress involved in jobs like mine. So I have a very sympathetic ear when I come home in the evening.”

19. Ideally, how long would you want to remain in this job?

“You know, I never have plans or ideals in that area because we’ve found that the best thing for us as a family is each time we make a move or go to a new job is to just assume we’re going to be there forever. That way we’re motivated to create the new relationships – business relationships and personal relationships – and get involved in the community. Then, whatever happens, happens. But we can’t live our lives always wondering each day: ‘How long am I going to be here?’ ”

20. Do you aspire to reach the top job as CEO of the parent company, Royal Dutch/Shell?

“I take one job at a time. That’s what has worked for me so far and I do the best I can at the job I’m at. And then I always think I’ll maximize my future options and then I’ll make a choice if one presents itself.”

IN PROFILE: Linda Cook
* Born/raised/age: Kansas City, Kan.; Shawnee, Kan.; 45.
* Title: President/CEO, Shell Canada.
* Education: University of Kansas, petroleum engineering degree.
* Family: Husband Steve Cook, three children, Kandace, Kyla and Kevin.
* Career: Cook was appointed CEO of Shell Canada on Aug. 1, succeeding Tim Faithfull. She has spent her entire 23-year career with the Royal Dutch/Shell Group. Previously, she was CEO of the $17-billion US London-based Shell Gas & Power (since 2000). She began her career in the U.S. in 1980, holding a variety of technical and managerial positions until 1998, when she moved to The Hague and became director of business and strategy development on the Shell Exploration & Production Global Executive Committee.
* Claim to fame: Cook is the world’s first female CEO of an integrated oil and gas company.
* Connections: Cook is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Harvard School of Government Dean’s Council.

THE COMPANY: Shell Canada
* Brass: Linda Cook, CEO; Cathy Williams, chief financial officer.
* Profile: Shell is an integrated petroleum company, producing natural gas, natural gas liquids and bitumen and is Canada’s largest producer of sulphur. Shell also manufactures and markets refined petroleum products and is leading the Athabasca Oil Sands Project. It is a member of the Royal Dutch/ Shell Group, the world’s third-largest oil and gas company.
* Recent Stock Price (SHC-TSX): $54.00 (52-week range, $43.27-$54.75).
* Website: www.shell.ca
* Head Office: #400 4th Ave. S.W., Calgary T2P OJ4
* Phone: 403-691-3111.