THE OUTGOING chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, who was the focus of a shareholder revolt over pay at the multinational oil company, has called for reform of how executives are rewarded.

Jeroen van der Veer, who steps down this month, faced criticism from shareholders for receiving a €1.35 million bonus from an incentive scheme, even though the company failed to meet performance targets for 2006-2008.

Anger over bonuses for Mr van der Veer and other directors sparked one of the biggest investor rebellions over directors’ pay when 59 per cent of Shell’s shareholders last month voted down its remuneration report. Mr van der Veer had also received a 58 per cent increase in pay in 2008 to €10.3 million.

He has conceded that varying pay levels would not have affected his performance. “You have to realise: if I had been paid 50 per cent more, I would not have done it better. If I had been paid 50 per cent less, then I would not have done it worse,” he said at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

Mr van der Veer said companies needed to respond to rising concerns about executive pay. He did not specify how pay structures needed to be reformed, but said: “It is clear to me that people are very concerned about executive remuneration, and good companies should take that on board.”

Mr van der Veer will remain on Shell’s board as a non-executive director. He also serves on Unilever’s remuneration committee.

Shell is consulting shareholders on executive pay policies following the shareholder revolt. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)