The chief executive of Shell, Jeroen van der Veer, has called for the reform of top executive pay in an interview with the Financial Times.

Van der Veer, who steps down this month, came under fire from Shell’s own shareholders last month for taking a million euro bonus despite not meeting targets.
Van der Veer told the FT that his pay level did not affect his own performance. ‘You have to realise if I had been paid 50% more I would not have done it better. If I had been paid 50% less I would not have done it worse,’ he said.
Firms must respond to rising concern about executive pay levels, he said. ‘It is clear to me that people are very concerned about executive remuneration and good companies should take that on board,’ he said.
The Dutch shareholder’s association VEB responded to the interview with scepticism. ‘If that’s the case why does he not tell the supervisory board ‘I won’t accept the bonus shares that have been awarded in this scheme?’ That would be putting his money where his mouth is,’ VEB chairman Jan Maarten Slagter told the FD.