Former Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Shell Oil Company

 Jo Pease served as the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer and the Director of the Ethics and Compliance Office for Shell in the United States until her recent retirement in July 2006. Jo assumed this responsibility in March 2000 and was responsible for establishing Shell’s first Ethics and Compliance Office. She was responsible for establishing the company’s overall Ethics and Compliance program and strategy for all Shell companies operating in the United States. Jo worked with senior leadership and the Board of Directors to oversee the U.S. program, which covers over 25,000 employees. During 2005 and 2006, she has served as a consultant to the newly named Royal Dutch Shell Compliance Officer, as RDS initiated additional focus on a global compliance program to cover 120,000 employees in 140 countries. 

Jo served on the Board of Directors of the Ethics and Compliance Officers Association and was a member of the Audit and Finance Committee. Upon retirement, she was given special recognition by the ECOA for her contributions at the April 2006 conference and was subsequently named to the ECOA Ethics Subcommittee. She was a member of the Ethics Resource Center Fellows Program, serving as Vice Chair and as a member of the Advisory Board. She was also a member of the Greater Houston Business Ethics Roundtable. She has spoken extensively in the area of ethics and compliance to external audiences, including: the Ethics and Compliance Association’s Sponsoring Partner Meetings and Annual Conferences, the Conference Board Annual Ethics Conferences, Practicing Law Institute’s Compliance Conference, the South Texas College of Law Compliance Conference and many colleges and universities.  

Jo serves on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities, Galveston-Houston Archdiocese, and is a member of the Fund Development Committee. She is Chair of the Board, Leadership Seminars of America, Inc.   She also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Incarnate Word Academy, an all girls’ Catholic high school. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas and holds a MBA from Yale University. She also holds a B.S. in Accounting from Northwestern State University in Louisiana. Prior to assuming her responsibilities as the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, she served in various management roles within Shell for over 29 years, including Chief Financial Officer of Shell Offshore Exploration and Production and Faculty, Shell University. Prior to joining Shell, she served as a Legislative Assistant to Congressman Joe D. Waggonner, D – La. 

In 2005, Jo was honored by Texas Executive Women as one of ten “Women on the Move” in Houston.  The TEW selection criteria for Houston’s top female leaders includes professional activities, community service and life journey. In 2006, Jo was recognized by Northwestern State University for her career accomplishments and was named to the Long Purple Line, the most prestigious honor presented to alumni with a total of only 80 people having being chosen in the university’s history.