Shell's Chairwoman for Egypt to give keynote address at Women in Leadership conference

Mrs Hill, who personifies the opportunities increasingly available to talented women in the Middle East, has over 20 years experience in the international oil and gas industry. She will present a personal perspective on the role of women in business at the opening of the conference on Sunday, which is recognised as the most significant forum in the region for the progression and empowerment of women in business.

"Our objectives are to motivate women to keep seeking recognition and greater responsibility for contributing to business success and to encourage debate and stimulate fresh thinking on how the remaining barriers to women in leadership may be tackled", said Mrs Hill.

"This Forum, I believe, will provide an excellent opportunity to take stock of where we've got to on the journey; to learn from successes to date; and to look at the hurdles that still lie ahead."

Egyptian-born, Mrs Hill brings a remarkable insight into the challenges facing women in the region who wish to make a career for themselves and who have ambitions to reach the top.

She joined Shell Exploration and Production in 1997 after spending 13 years with international oil and gas companies in a variety of posts including Chief Petroleum Engineer for an independent oil concern. A period in Malaysia was followed by a posting to Shell's headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands where she worked in a number of managerial positions with responsibilities for the Middle East and for leading Shell's global Exploration and Development planning unit.

Before her current appointment, Mrs Hill was the Senior Regional Adviser for Africa to Shell's Committee of Managing Directors, the group's chief operational body.

Shell itself has long recognised the value of the contribution that women can make to its business and in 2004 formalised its commitment to a different approach to the management of diversity when it adopted a worldwide Diversity and Inclusiveness Standard.

Ann Musser, Manager Global Diversity Planning & Integration, Shell International, is in charge of that programme. She will be speaking on developing women leaders within organizations at the Women in Leadership conference which is sponsored by Shell.

She commented: "Women are not only a great source of talent but also key customers. This means we must have women at all levels in our workplace to better understand and respond to increasingly diverse customers and markets. This is how we sharpen our competitive edge."

Shell's commitment to diversity in this region is demonstrated by its sponsorship of the Women in Leadership conference and the creation of the Emirates Businesswomen Award which is now in its third year and open to all business and professional women in the UAE, both nationals and non-nationals.