August 2004: Shell Oil Looking for PR Officer with ‘Strong Family Connections’ to Work for Shell Iraq

Despite having told shareholders that it has no immediate plans to do business in Iraq, Shell Oil appoints Wolfgang Stroebl, a Dubai-based exploration and production executive, as “country chairman” for Iraq. According to the British organization PLATFORM, the “country chairman role is the most senior coordinating job in a country where Shell operates, and indicates a significant amount of activity by the company there.” The company also places an ad with the recruitment firm Glenn Irvine International seeking a “person of Iraqi extraction with strong family connections and an insight into the network of families of significance within Iraq” to work as a public relations officer for Shell Iraq. The person would bring “suitable opportunities to fruition on behalf of the company” and draw up a “reputation management plan,” the advertisement says. [Guardian, 8/11/2004; Muttitt, 2005]