Canada's Top 100 Employers (2026) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 70
74
( 2026 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
Shell Canada builds a community focused on people
J
ohnathan Cockbill had been
working as a Calgary-based
geologist for 10 years when
he answered a newspaper ad
for Shell Canada in 2013.
Cockbill was experienced in
unconventional petroleum
resources, and Shell was
expanding its shale gas operations
in Western Canada.
For the next five years he
worked as a geologist on the Fox
Creek asset in Alberta, and for
three years after that, in Texas
at the largest producing oil field
in the United States. In 2022,
he changed roles, and he now
manages the Groundbirch asset —
a natural gas complex that feeds
700 million cubic feet of natural
gas a day into Shell’s massive
liquified natural gas (LNG) project
in Kitimat, B.C.
“At a lot of oil and gas
companies, a geologist is a
geologist,” says Cockbill. “They
learn and get better, they gain
seniority — but the role doesn’t
change a whole lot. At Shell, the
sky’s the limit in terms of where
you want to take your career.”
Despite those career
advancement opportunities,
Cockbill says it was really Shell’s
culture that cemented the
relationship. “It’s an incredible
culture to be part of,” he says.
“The company works hard to drive
a culture where everyone feels like
they belong.”
“We’re building a community
here at Shell,” says Shell Canada
vice president Bonnie Yu. “At the
end of the day, people just want
to feel connected and heard, and
we’re constantly looking for ways
to do that.”
Shell conducts regular employee
surveys to gauge their goals and
concerns, while employee-led
resource groups (ERGs) bring
like-minded staff together from
across Canada and globally.
Worldwide, Shell has more than
120 ERGs that employees can
join, based on interests such as
disability inclusion, gender, race,
ethnicity and LGBTQ+ issues.
“The people in these groups are
invested in making connections
on their own,” says Yu. “That’s
what drives our culture — the
ownership that people take to
build those connections.”
Yu’s professional experience
parallels Cockbill’s career
progression. Hired by Shell in
her hometown of Calgary 19 years
ago as a production engineer, she
rose up the ranks, lived in the
United States for a time, travelled
the world and now heads up
Shell’s manufacturing centre
in Sarnia, Ont. She says Shell’s
strong culture makes it easier on
employees who often live and
work far afield.
It’s an incredible
culture to be part of.
The company works
hard to drive a culture
where everyone feels
like they belong.
— Johnathan Cockbill
Groundbirch Area Manager
A Shell Canada employee working at one of the organization’s industrial sites.
“When you create a culture
that is common across different
locations, it makes it easier for
employees to adapt when they
move to those locations,” says Yu.
“We’re Shell Canada but we’re
also part of a global company, and
some of the opportunities are a
long way from home.”
Cockbill says the way that
