2022 Nil Nisi Optimum Notable Alumni | Susannah Pierce '90

By: Steve Hanulik, Contributing Writer

Nil Nisi Optimum (NNO) Alumni are selected from a multitude of decades and professions, and have brought great honour and pride to their alma mater. This year, two more alumni who have demonstrated notable accomplishments in leadership, service, and dedication to their profession and community joined this prestigious group. 

Susannah Pierce '90 has spent the last 20 years of her career at the intersection of environmental, social, and governance interests in Canada and abroad. Her expertise lies in bringing business, governments, communities, Indigenous groups and other non-governmental actors together to support the development of energy resources from initial stages of project design through permitting and consultation to investment decision, construction, operations, and decommissioning. 

In her current role as Shell Canada Limited President and Country Chair she is responsible for integrating and coordinating business investment and operational performance across Shell’s lines of business in Canada including Upstream, Chemicals and Products, Integrated Gas and Emerging Energy Solutions, and is accountable for Shell’s overall reputation and stakeholder relations in the country. In addition to being the President and Country Chair, Susannah is also the VP of Emerging Energy Solutions for Canada. In this capacity she is responsible for advancing investment opportunities in Shell’s growth pillar which invests in renewable power, carbon capture sequestration, hydrogen and nature-based systems. 

Susannah has previously worked a variety of positions at Shell Canada, including Vice President of Value Chain Integration and Vice President, Upstream International. She’s held many prestigious roles and responsibilities in other companies such as TC Energy, MicroStrategy, and Accenture. Susannah has served on various for-profit and nonprofit boards. She is currently on the board of The Vancouver General Hospital Foundation, The Wilder Institute and serves on the Executive Committees of the Business Council of BC and the Business Council of Canada. She is also on the Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute Advisory Council, co-Chair of the Business Council of Alberta’s Define the Decade and co-Chair of the Canada Chamber of Commerce Western Executive Council. 

Susannah’s innovative and entrepreneurial mindset in the technology and energy fields, combined with her deep relationships with key stakeholders and Indigenous communities, confirm that she embodies the core values of STS. She demonstrates global citizenship everyday with her service and numerous initiatives. 

Susannah holds a MA from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA from The George Washington University. 

Susannah lives in Vancouver with her two children.

“I first believed I could achieve things I never thought possible at Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School. With the support of STS teachers, friends, and my family, I began to set personal goals that were beyond my comfort zone and my own expectations. It was then that I realized one of the most critical things that was holding me back was believing in myself – that I could do it!”