SHELL CEO TO ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC CLUB OF NEW YORK
For Immediate Release
September 19, 2025 -- New York, NY - American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) and Avara Pharmaceuticals shall host their clients, colleagues, and friends at a reception and luncheon program sponsored by the Economic Club of New York, featuring Wael Sawan, Chief Executive Officer of Shell plc on September 29, 2025 in New York. As one of the world's largest energy companies, Shell is a British multinational oil and gas company with operations in over 99 countries, producing around 3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and maintaining approximately 44,000 service stations worldwide.
Mr. Sawan has been recognized as a visionary leader in the global energy transition, guiding Shell through one of its most transformative periods. At the Economic Club luncheon, Mr. Sawan will share his insights on the future of energy, the balance between traditional fossil fuels and renewable energy transition, global energy security, and Shell's strategy of delivering "more value with less emissions."
L. M. Levie, Chairman of AIAC and Avara Pharmaceuticals and Member of the Economic Club of New York Centennial Society and its Legacy Society, stated, "We are honored to welcome our colleagues and friends to this significant luncheon program featuring Wael Sawan of Shell. Wael's leadership has positioned Shell at the forefront of the energy transition while maintaining the company's position as a global energy leader. His strategic vision of balancing shareholder value with environmental responsibility represents the future of energy leadership in an evolving global landscape."
About Wael Sawan
Wael Sawan is Chief Executive Officer of Shell plc, having assumed the role in January 2023. A dual Lebanese-Canadian national born in Beirut in July 1974, Sawan grew up in Dubai and graduated with a master's degree in chemical engineering from Canada's McGill University and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Sawan joined Shell in 1997 as an engineer with Petroleum Development Oman. Over his 26-year career with Shell, he has held key leadership positions including country chair in Qatar, where he oversaw the planning and early stages of the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids (GtL) project, director of Shell's upstream business, and most recently, head of Shell's integrated gas, renewables and energy solutions division before becoming CEO.
Under Sawan's leadership, Shell has focused on its strategy of "more value with less emissions," positioning the company to navigate the complex energy transition while maintaining profitability and energy security. He has been instrumental in Shell's strategic focus on liquefied natural gas (LNG), where Shell is the world's largest LNG trader, while also advancing the company's integrated energy approach.
Mr. Sawan serves on various industry boards and is recognized as a thought leader in global energy policy and the energy transition.
For further information, please see:
WWW.SHELL.COM/WHO-WE-ARE/LEADERSHIP/BOARD-OF-DIRECTORS/WAEL-SAWAN
About Shell plc
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange. A core component of Big Oil, Shell is the second largest investor-owned oil and gas company in the world by revenue (after ExxonMobil), and among the world's largest companies out of any industry.
Shell is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration, production, refining, transport, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation, and trading. Shell has operations in over 99 countries, produces around 3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has around 44,000 service stations worldwide.
Shell is the world's largest liquefied natural gas trader and is implementing a strategy to grow output across its combined upstream and integrated gas businesses by 1% per year through to 2030, while increasing LNG sales by 4-5% every year through that period. The company has committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and intends to expend 10% of its capital employed in low-carbon businesses by 2030.
Shell's current strategic focus centers on performance, discipline, and simplification, with the company achieving structural cost reductions of $3.9 billion since 2022. The company maintains strong shareholder returns through progressive dividends and consistent share buyback programs.
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About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing and distribution sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia-New Zealand. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, Ahlstrom, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, food, confectionary, beverage, civil engineering and infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, education, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial and consumer products and serve as critical suppliers for the construction of major airports, schools, hospitals, performing arts and sports centers, offices and hotels throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a leading manufacturer of building, street, and highway signage in Europe, signage and illumination structures in North America, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, the European Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler-Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC controls and sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary. AIAC affiliate, Metallwarenfabrik Gemmingen GmbH, located in Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes high performance, emergency portable power generators utilized in global conflict zones and during natural disasters.
About AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, exploration, and the performing arts. The exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which they actively support include the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
L. M. Levie, Chairman of AIAC, is a Member of the Centennial Society and Legacy Society of the Economic Club of New York and a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Explorers Club.
AIAC's other beneficiaries include the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc., the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Gates Philanthropy Partners, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institut Française des Relations Internationales, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Crisis Group, the International Rescue Committee, the Japan Society, the JFK School of Government of Harvard University, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the Sierra Club, and the Trilateral Commission.
For further information, please see:
HTTPS://WWW.AIAC.COM/OUR-VALUES
About Avara Pharmaceutical Services
Avara Pharmaceutical Services is a global leader in contract manufacturing for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. With campuses in Arecibo, Puerto Rico; Norman, Oklahoma; and Liscate, Italy, Avara serves 40 countries, producing a wide range of critical medications, including oral solid doses and injectable pharmaceuticals.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Avara played a key role in manufacturing essential treatments. In 2021, Avara Norman produced the active pharmaceutical ingredients for Remdesivir, a leading COVID-19 treatment. Avara Liscate manufactured Nimbex for AbbVie from 2020 to 2022 and Adrenaline for Pfizer from 2020 to 2024, both vital respiratory drugs for COVID-19 patients. Avara's state-of-the-art facilities ensure compliance with global regulatory standards and enable efficient production processes. Committed to sustainability, Avara invests in advanced manufacturing techniques and environmental initiatives. Trusted by clients such as Aspen, AbbVie, Astellas, Bausch & Lomb, Genentech-Roche, Merck, Organon, Pfizer, SK Life, and others, Avara tailors its services to meet unique client needs.
For further information, please see: WWW.AVARA.COM
About the Economic Club of New York
Founded in 1907, the Economic Club of New York is the premier forum for discussion on a wide range of issues facing New York City, the United States, and the world. The Club welcomes preeminent thought leaders from across the globe and from the public and private sectors to speak on complex issues ranging from public policy and economic regulation to tech disruption. Nonpolitical, nonpartisan, and nonprofit, the Club promotes no agenda and takes no sides on issues, encouraging speakers and members to engage openly in thoughtful discussions.
The Economic Club comprises individual members, drawing from the senior leadership of many prominent corporate and financial organizations based in the metropolitan area. The Club has hosted speakers who are experts in their respective fields and who drive the conversations that shape the world's future.
Past speakers include leaders of Fortune Global 500 companies and multiple U.S. presidents, including Woodrow Wilson, William H. Taft, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush. International heads of state such as Winston Churchill, Mikhail Gorbachev, Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, and Yitzhak Rabin have addressed the Club. In recent months, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. Federal Reserve System Chair Jerome Powell, Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates, JPMorgan Chair Jamie Dimon, U.S. Secretaries of Treasury Janet Yellen and Scott Bessent, and Citadel Founder and Chair Ken Griffin have addressed the Club.
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Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
+1 787 244 3175 (USA)
icarro-toro@aiac.com