Hector MacQuarrie, principal at Shell Ventures, is one of our top 50 Emerging Leaders in corporate venturing for 2025.
Hector MacQuarrie started at energy company Shell 15 years ago in upstream exploration but later pivoted to working in Shell’s corporate strategy organisation and then Shell Ventures.
The Shell Ventures team comprises 35 people globally and MacQuarrie is part of a group of three based in Boston, where he focuses on two key areas – decarbonisation and mobility. He is actively exploring opportunities in carbon capture, industrial decarbonisation processes and novel utilisation of captured CO2.
“We are living through a Cambrian explosion of new technologies and business models that are enabling the decarbonisation,” he says.
Shell Ventures recently invested in Mantel Capture, a startup developing a high temperature molten, salt-based carbon capture technology that has the potential to lower the cost of capturing carbon from industrial processes.
“Being able to talk through the scenarios with somebody who is experienced in this space helps to open up opportunities and uncover things that you might have missed.”
MacQuarrie also looks at investments in emerging fleet operations, management tools, payments and electric vehicle charging. These build on Shell’s long-standing presence in petrol station forecourts and fleet management.
MacQuarrie says managing and building internal networks at Shell is one of the keys to doing the job well. Internal experts are an invaluable resource during due diligence, either as a technology expert or potential customer. In return, MacQuarrie looks for ways to help the business units, from running market scoping sessions to making introductions to relevant startups. “I try to think about all the ways I can add value,” he says.
His tips for anyone considering a corporate venturing career are to stay “exceptionally curious” and, if possible, find a good mentor.
“Being able to talk through the scenarios, being able to bounce ideas off, play one side versus another in a conversation with somebody who is experienced in this space, that helps to open up the opportunities and helps to uncover things that you might have missed on your own,” he says.
See the full list of Emerging Leaders 2025 here.
