Title: 7 Shell Trading - Mike, Executive Vice President
Duration: 3:24 minutes
Description:
So what's it really like to work in Trading at Shell? Here you can tap into the experiences of the
people who know best - the people who are already working for us. Listen to what Mike - Executive
Vice President has to say.
7 Shell Trading - Mike, Executive Vice President Film Transcript
[Background music plays]
Bright, uplifting music
[Video footage]
Revolving glass doors with large white Shell logo on each panel. A man enters the revolving door,
setting the door spinning slowly.
Interview with Mike Conway
[Title]
President Shell Trading
[Mike]
‘’My name is Mike Conway. I'm currently President of Shell Trading.’’
[Video footage]
Camera is looking up at ceiling. Shell logo and the word Trading is visible on a lighting panel below
ceiling.
Brief view of a close-up of a hand at a lit-up console.
Camera pans quickly from right to left, showing blurred images before focusing on right profile of a
man looking up, hand to mouth as though thinking.
Brief view of a screen showing three multi-coloured graphs on a black background.
Man wearing headset, seated in front of several computer monitors. He is talking on headset.
[Mike]
‘’There's a number of reasons why you'd want to work for Shell. First thing is, you have Shell behind
you. We are here for the long term. We've been in existence for well over a hundred years. We're a
global business, so we are not just in one part of the world.’’
[Video footage]
Scene showing atrium surrounded by white building. There are large potted plants and we see two
women in foreground, walking towards camera, carrying boutique shopping bags.
Scene of long passageway with people walking down passageway away from camera. Several of the
people disappear and others reappear as they proceed down the passage.
Camera pans around a room containing a large partitioned desk. A ship’s bell hangs from a stand on
the desk in the left foreground. Several people are seen seated in a row along the desk, each looking
at a computer monitor in front of them.
Camera pans left along digital display of several current global times.
[Mike]
‘’We touch every place in the world. We're a major player.’’
[Video footage]
Camera pans left giving brief view of computer monitors showing figures and tables. Man’s head is
just visible in left of screen.
View of two men seated at computer monitors showing many lines of data and coloured columns.
Man closest is looking intently at computer monitor, while the man in the background is looking
towards him.
Close-up of a man’s hand on a console with a central screen, upon which is displayed blocks of text.
A computer monitor stands just behind the console.
Blurred video clears to show a man talking on a telephone and looking at the computer monitor in
front of him.
Long, single desk at which are seated three men side-by-side, each looking at the computer monitor
in front of him. A large window is visible in the background.
Left profile of man talking on telephone, computer monitors with multi-coloured columns of data is
visible in front right of him.
Close-up of faces of a man and a woman sitting side-by-side looking at possibly a computer monitor
in front of them. The woman is talking.
Long, single desk at which are seated two women and a man, each looking at the computer monitor
in front of him or her.
[Mike]
‘’Within the company, I'm looking for a broad diversity of talents, ideas. We don't want a lot of 'yes
people' around in the organization.’’
[Video footage]
Camera pans up from desk to man on telephone. He is looking at computer monitor in front of him.
Close-up of computer screen with columns of data.
Man sitting at long, single desk, looking intently at computer screen in front of him. A colleague is
just visible out of focus in left of screen.
Camera pans right to show view over shoulder of seated man of an array of three computer
monitors showing multiple columns of data.
Close-up of man on telephone. He is talking and smiling. A colleague is visible just out of focus to his
right, also on telephone.
Camera zooms towards the back of a man seated at an array of computer screens showing multiple
columns of data.
[Mike]
‘’You know there are a few things that I insist upon in terms of integrity, living within our values. But
outside of that, you want as broad a background as possible to be able to give the best chance of
finding opportunity.’’
[Video footage]
Close-up of right profile of man talking into microphone, computer monitors showing columns of
data in front of him.
View over left shoulder of man who is looking at a large computer monitor showing columns and
rows of data.
Close-up of right profile of man answering telephone. A colleague working at a computer is seated at
the desk next to him but is out of focus.
Close-up of left profile of man on telephone. Camera focuses briefly on colleague seated next to him,
who is looking at a computer screen.
[Mike]
‘’Because, if you look at this business, it all comes down for people making good business decisions.’’
[Video footage]
View from slightly behind of two men at an array of computer screens on which is shown complex
data. Closer man is pointing at screens and talking.
View of brightly-lit open-plan office area. Many computer screens are visible on each desk. Several
of the computers are manned, and there are several large-screen video screens at intervals on the
walls.
Close-up of hand on console with central screen, several monitors are just above and behind the
console.
Three men seated side-by-side, looking intently ahead of them. The furthest man is talking.
Back of man and woman seated at long desk in front of computer monitors is shown. The man is
looking down at his desk. A man is visible just opposite him, peering intently at his computer screen.
Camera pans left to show more of the room, showing people at computers, talking on headsets and
telephones.
Camera pans from close-up of man’s face down to printed pages upon which he is writing.
Camera pans right from array of computer monitors to the people seated side-by-side in front of
them at a long desk.
Camera pans up from hand on console with central screen on it, to the man operating it. He is
looking up at possibly a computer monitor.
Camera pans around an office comprising several long desks. People are seated at the desks,
working at computers.
Close-up of left profile of woman looking at possibly a computer screen. Camera shifts to focus on
female colleague seated next to her. Female colleague looks up at possibly a computer screen.
[Mike]
‘’In training you need a number of different skills. You have to be able to look at something and put
pencil to paper and say, ‘Is this going to make money for the company or not?’ You have to have the
ability to operate with incomplete information.’’
[Video footage]
Close-up of man seated at long desk and talking on headset. Two colleagues seated side-by-side next
to him are just visible beyond.
[Mike]
‘’You find that you have what I call a gut feel for what's going on in the marketplace and the areas of
your expertise and you're able to make decisions faster than other parts of the organization can.’’
[Video footage]
Close-up of right profile of man looking at out-of-focus computer screens in front of him.
Close-up of woman looking at a computer screen. She has her hand resting against her mouth as she
concentrates.
Camera pans quickly past blurred, indistinct images to show close-up of hand picking up a red pen
and writing on a sheet of paper in front of him. Computer keyboard and console with central screen
are on desk in front of him.
Close-up of left profile of man. He is looking down at something out of view.
Camera pans left from backs of two men seated at a desk with an array of computer screens in front
of them to colleagues seated alongside them, also with arrays of computer screens in front of them.
[Mike]
‘’The way I look at is, if you have to wait for all the pieces of information before you can make the
decision, the decision is gone.’’
[Video footage]
Close-up side view of man talking into microphone. He is looking at an array of computer screens in
front of him.
Camera pans down to show his hand on a console with a central screen showing rows of data.
Close-up of array of computer monitors, one of which displays a complex graph. A man’s head is just
visible in the right of the screen.
[Mike]
‘’You need to be able to handle risk in a certain way.’’
[Video footage]
Close-up from behind man on telephone. Computer monitors displaying data can be seen over his
shoulder.
Close-up of table of figures on computer screen. A man’s hand is pointing to the figures.
Close-up of two seated men leaning in to look at a computer monitor in front of them.
Close-up of woman’s hands typing at computer keyboard.
Close-up of same woman’s right profile. She is wearing a headset and looking at the computer
screen.
[Mike]
‘’It's a balanced view of being able to put a position on, and being able to live with it and manage it,
and then also not get enamoured so much with the deal and wanting to do the next deal. So you
have to know when you get in and when you get out.’’
[Video footage]
Camera zooms rapidly out from side view of two seated men looking at computer screens in front of
them. Colleagues are visible seated further down the table.
Close-up of man’s face visible just past the back of his computer screen. He is staring intently at the
screen.
Two seated men looking directly ahead and in front of them. The man seated between them stands
up with a sheaf of papers in his hands and turns to walk away.
Close-up of a man’s face as he turns away from camera to look at out-of-focus female colleague
seated alongside him. Camera focuses on female colleague; she is looking at something in front of
her.
Camera pans around brightly-lit open-plan office in which are seen many computer screens and
people at work behind them.
Close-up of console with central screen. Data in tabular format is shown on the screen. Camera then
pans left to show another of these consoles.
View from left side of man at work on keyboard in front of array of computer screens.
Close-up left profile of a smiling woman. She turns in her chair as the camera pans out to show a
male colleague behind her who is speaking to her. Another man and woman are visible behind her.
The woman turns back to her desk while the man behind her leans over in his chair, continuing to
talk to her.
Close-up of man’s hand on console with central screen showing data in tables. He presses a button
on the right of the console.
Scene of three people seated side-by-side at desk, computer screens in front of them. The woman
furthest is talking on the telephone and looking at her computer screen, the middle man is looking at
his computer screen, and the closest man is looking down at his desk, hand to his mouth.
Indistinct computer screen visible over right shoulder of woman facing it.
Camera zooms in to close-up of computer screen showing complex multi-coloured graphs.
[Mike]
‘’And then within the overall Shell system, things like teamwork, innovation, the ability to learn is
very important. This business is constantly changing, so you always have got to look at where the
market is going. And what used to make you money two or three years ago may make you no money
in the future.’’
[Video footage]
Close-up of left profile of man talking on telephone. Two colleagues and computer screens are just
visible to his right.
Camera moves from focusing on right profile man on telephone to the face of a woman frowning
intently at something she is looking at in front of her.
[Mike]
‘’So your ability to change the way you look at the business, being able to get out of businesses and
go into new ones, and to learn from the experiences to be able to do it better the next time, is the
key thing, because if you continually learn I can't lose.’’
[Video footage]
Man approaches a colleague seated at a long desk and hugs him. A seated colleague smiles on as he
watches the scene. There are large-screen TVs on the walls at various intervals around the office in
which they sit.
View from left side of man who received the hug. He is smiling, and the man who hugged him is
standing to his left, talking and looking at the computer screen in front of him.
Camera pans around behind two men seated side-by-side at desks with array of computer monitors
in front of them. They are facing one another and talking.
[Mike]
‘’Whether or not Shell is a good company for you or not, will depend a lot upon what are you in it
for. So there are a number of things that we can provide you, in terms of training, learning, in terms,
of working in a large company that gives you lots of opportunities.’’
[Video footage]
Close-up of man’s hands. He is holding a pen. A computer keyboard and telephone, and the folded
arms of a seated person, are visible just in front of him.
Camera has zoomed out to show the same men. The man with arms folded upon his desk is talking.
A colleague can be seen in the background, looking at his computer screen.
Close-up of hands typing on a computer keyboard.
Camera shifts focus from side view of three people seated side-by-side at a long desk, working, to a
red peak cap with the Shell logo on the side.
[Mike]
‘’But the biggest thing is the people that are in here.’’
[Video footage]
Seated man with microphone in front of him. He turns from talking to a colleague and pointing at his
screen to look back at the screen in front of him. Colleagues can be seen seated side-by-side next to
him. The nearest colleague turns to talk to him, as he turns to face the colleague, and a colleague
further down the table turns to face them too. Two other men lean in to look at the computer
screen over the second man’s shoulder and are talking to one another.
[Mike]
‘’We have some training managers and traders that have been in the industry for well over twenty
years. They have seen a lot of stuff.’’
[Video footage]
View from behind computer monitor of man looking askance and smiling at unseen person.
Office scene - camera pans from woman standing next to seated men at desks, computer monitors
in front of them. The seated man is talking to the woman while his colleague looks on.
Camera shifts focus from a seated man looking at his computer monitor to the profile of the woman
seated next to him, also looking at her computer monitor.
Close-up of woman’s hands typing on a computer keyboard.
Close-up of right profile of same woman as she looks at her computer monitor.
Office scene – employees are seen seated side-by-side at a long desk, computer monitors in front of
them. A standing man turns to the row of desks behind him and addresses a man seated behind him.
View of three people seated side-by-side, computer monitors in front of them, and a large blank,
brightly-lit screen at end of room. The closest and middle man are talking on the telephone, while
the woman seated at the end of the room is looking at the computer screen.
[Mike]
‘’You have the ability to access some extremely bright individuals, and some of the industry experts
in the energy business, in terms of understanding of the markets and how markets work.’’
[Video footage]
Left view of man on telephone. An array of computer monitors is in front of him.
Close-up of Shell logo under a panel of glass.
[Mike]
‘’And then finally, it is the Shell brand. That card, that business card, can get you in just about any
place in the world.’’
[Video footage]
View of backs of two men seated side-by-side at desks, arrays of computer monitors in front of each.
They are talking to one another.
Close-up of man’s hands typing on computer keyboard.
Same man is shown from left, typing and looking up at his computer monitor. Two colleagues are
visible seated next to him but further down the table.
[Mike]
‘’With that, comes a lot of responsibility as well, how we're seen in the marketplace, how we are
looked at by our counterparties, and our customers, and the community.’’
[Video footage]
Left view of man looking at array of computer screens in front of him as he operates the computer
mouse.
Close-up of right profile of man on telephone.
Man seated at desk filled with computer equipment. He is working on a small calculator in front of
him. A computer monitor showing technical graphs and data can be seen in the foreground.
Close-up of hands typing on computer keyboard.
Right view of man typing at keyboard, looking at computer monitor in front of him, on which is
displayed rows of data. Colleagues are visible seated further down the table next to him.
[Mike]
‘’You look in the Times and you look in the FT everyday, there's something on that front page that
we're involved with. And so you have the ability to have some impact on what goes on in the world.’’
[Video footage]
Camera pans rapidly from right to left, from man seated at desk with array of computer monitors in
front of him to his colleagues seated next to him.
People seated side-by-side at a long desk, looking at computer monitors in front of them.
Camera zooms rapidly down a long desk at which are seated several people side-by-side, looking at
their computer monitors.
Sped-up scene of a brightly-lit open-plan office with many computer screens and people working at
them.
An extreme close-up of a ship’s brass bell with a name and year inscribed upon it. The letters O N O
V A N are visible, as is the year 1966. A globe and an open-plan office is visible in the background.
[Graphics]
Shell logo on white background.
[Text displays]
Copyright, Shell International 2011
[Music ends]