John H. Loudon

John H. Loudon "Better known as "the Grand Old Man of Shell", John H. Loudon, a Dutchman, headed Royal Dutch Shell from 1951 to 1965. The son of former Shell Board President, Hugo Loudon, he joined the company in 1930, when he went to work in the Lake Maracaibo oilfields of Venezuela.

"He was President of WWF from 1976 to 1981, and also a member of The 1001. John H. Loudon died in 1996 at the age of 90."

According to a New York Times obituary: "He kept close friendships with such business leaders as David Rockefeller and Henry Ford II."

Indeed, the obituary goes on to note that: "After he stepped down as chairman [of Shell] in 1965, he continued to be active in the company as chairman of the board of supervisory directors for 11 more years.

"When David Rockfeller, the president of Chase Manhattan Bank, set up an advisory committee in 1965 to counsel the bank on its growing international business, Mr. Loudon was named as chairman. He retired from the group in 1977." Mr. Loudon is survived by his second wife, Charlotte van Sminia, and three sons: John and George, who live in London, and Frederick, who lives in the Netherlands.