CEO
Dev Sanyal
CEO
Dev Sanyal is Chief Executive Officer of VARO Energy Group AG, based in Zug, Switzerland. He was appointed to this role effective 1 January 2022.
Prior to this, Dev had a three-decade career with BP plc including over a decade as a member of the group executive committee during which time he was chief executive, alternative energy; executive vice president, gas and low carbon energy; and executive vice president, group strategy and BP’s Europe and Asia regions.
Dev joined BP in 1989 and held a variety of international roles in London, Athens, Istanbul, Vienna and Dubai. He was appointed chief executive, BP Eastern Mediterranean in 1999 prior to his appointment as chief executive, Air BP International in 2003. In 2006, he moved to the role of head of the group chief executive’s office. He was appointed group treasurer in 2007. During this period, he was chairman of BP Investment Management and was also accountable for the group’s aluminum interests.
Dev is an independent non-executive director on the board of M&G plc; a member of the advisory board of the Centre for European Reform and the board of overseers of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, where he obtained a master’s degree in economics and politics. He is a Fellow of the Energy Institute.
He was an independent non-executive director of Man Group plc (2013-2022); a member of the energy advisory board of the Government of India (2017-2023); Accenture Global Energy Board (2012-2018); Global Council of the International Crisis Group (2012-2020); Vice Chairman, Centre for China in the World Economy, Tsinghua University (2014-2019); The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation Business Leaders Group (2012-2015); and Trustee of Career Ready (2007-2013).
Board
Ernestina Benedetto
EVP Strategy and Transformation
Ernestina Benedetto joined VARO’s M&A and Strategy team in 2018. She brings more than 10 years of experience in M&A, strategy and corporate development across different industries and geographies (Europe, Asia and Latin America).
She started her career in M&A advisory in Argentina, and then moved to corporate development and strategy roles in Singapore and Switzerland.
She holds a degree in Economics and an MBA from INSEAD.
Rick Klop
EVP and Chief Operating Officer, Markets and Commercial
Rick Klop joined VARO in 2015 as part of the merger with Argos, where he had been on the Board of Directors since 2009. Rick brings 17 years of experience in the mid- and downstream oil business, where he has held different leading and directing roles in Supply Trading & Bunkering, Strategy & Investments and Finance (CFO).
His main areas of expertise are within oil, trading, commodities, oil logistics, oil marketing, retail, M&A, finance, risk management and general management. After his role as Country Manager, where Rick was leading VARO’s activities in Benelux and France, as well as looking after the Retail Strategy for the Group, he took on the role as Chief Financial Officer in June 2020. In this role he oversaw the company's financial operations. As of December 2023, Rick has been appointed EVP and Chief Operating Officer, Markets and Commercial, where he continues to drive the company's growth and operational excellence in its commercial activities.
Georges Menane
EVP and Chief Financial Officer
Georges joined VARO in December 2023 in the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and is based in Zug.
Prior to this, Georges was CFO at ADNOC Refining, based in Abu Dhabi. Before joining ADNOC in 2018, he served in Shell for over 20 years in senior financial positions in the UK, The Netherlands, Sakhalin in Russia and Brunei. He was Vice President of Investor Relations, Financial Controller, and Finance Director of Brunei Shell Petroleum amongst other positions. Georges brings to VARO world class financial and capital markets expertise and experience in transforming and scaling multi-national finance functions. He plays an important role in ensuring that VARO has the financial capability as well as the necessary infrastructure and capacity in place for the next phase of growth.
Theo Pannekeet
EVP New Energies and Innovation
Since the merger of VARO Energy and Argos in 2015 Theo Pannekeet has been Product Trading director and in 2018 switched over to lead the Renewables activities of the group. He started working in the oil business in 1998, initially at Petroplus Tankstorage and later on for physical oil broker company Starsupply. In the role of Product trader Theo joined Van der Sluijs, a precursor company of VARO, in 2008, which after several mergers (North Sea Group and Argos) became VARO Energy.
As from 2014 he changed his role as Product trader for a position in the Management Team to lead the Wholesale, Product Trading, Biofuels and Logistic activities/teams of Argos in the Benelux, Germany and France. His background of exposure management, (international) oil market expertise and renewables, linked to his extensive knowledge of several other key business areas/assets make him a major contributor to the success of VARO Energy.
Julian Stoll
EVP and Chief Operating Officer, Operations and Infrastructure
Julian Stoll joined VARO in March 2020 as the company’s first Chief Operating Officer and is based in Zug, Switzerland. Before this appointment, Julian was acting as Vice President Refining Operations with Phillipps 66 /ConocoPhillips, where he gathered nearly 30 years' experience in multiple senior management positions.
Through his career, he was based between the UK and North America. During the past 3 decades, Julian gained profound experience in operational excellence, refinery operations and business transformation, which is a valuable asset for VARO Energy in the ongoing energy transition.
Gilles Vollin
EVP Integration and Capability
Gilles Vollin has more than 30 years of extensive experience in the oil industry, having performed in several senior management roles and directorship positions. During his career in refining, Gilles has developed an extensive knowledge in refinery operations, safety and reliability management, economics optimization and asset strategy development.
After leading the Berre Refinery (France) he became Director of the Cressier refinery (Switzerland). In 2012, Gilles acted as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Petroplus Cressier Refinery and Pipeline companies in composition proceedings until the successful sale of the assets.
In 2015 he became VARO Energy Director HR & HSEQ and in 2022 he assumed the role of EVP Integration and Capability, with responsibilities for organization and people development, new capabilities, and the positioning of the company.