Monday, November 28, 2005

Farewell to Shell, Till We Meet Again

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted...
A time to get , and a time to lose;
A time to keep and a time to cast away...
A time of war, and a time of peace...

Dear All,

In my 10+ years with Shell, I have been fortunate to have visited 20+ cities in 15 countries (and lived in 2 of them) , worked in 2 continents, held 6 roles, worked for 3 global businesses, and clocked up 500,000 Air Miles in one particular year....

Some of you may be aware that those times are coming to an end. With mixed feelings, I will be leaving Shell effective from this Friday, November 25th 2005. Regretfully I was not able to inform you sooner. I will be doing something completely different with another multinational company who will be expanding its banking operations. I will be part of the business development team and will continue to be based in Jakarta.

People ask me how I feel about leaving. Parting is such sweet sorrow. The sweet is the new road I will be taking with its exciting and new challenges; new people to see, new places to go. The sorrow is leaving behind what makes Shell a great company to work for : You. You have all treated me as if I am already who you think I ought to be. By doing this you guided me to what I am capable of doing.

To my colleagues in Jakarta, few of us on our own will have the greatness to move Shell . But as each of us work harder and smarter, it sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, each bigger than before and in that will be written the history of the Shell Companies in Indonesia. As you travel the road ahead, my fondest hope is that your collective wisdom will be the lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm will be steadying your way.

As for me, I have miles to go before I can sleep. Miles to go...

I plan to finish my masters' degree and eventually earn my PhD. Along the way I hope to persuade my almamater to give me a teaching position. When I am old and gray and teach Strategy to my students, I will be thinking of you all.

Finally, I would like to express my deep appreciation to Ad de Visscher and Bob Moran who have provided me with advise, guidance, kindness, superior coaching and support not only throughout my last role , but even more so in the last couple of weeks. Mike Pitt, my new boss, it would have been a real pleasure to work for you.

Thank you all, Thank you for your Friendship throughout my time in Shell. Working with you has been an absolute pleasure and a treasured privilege.

God bless you, Farewell, and till we meet again.

From a grateful Friend.
Cheers, Iwan.

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