Akilah LeBlanc is the General Manager, Commercial Innovation Partnerships at Shell. Akilah has an extensive, diverse career in the energy industry, including experience in Finance, Acquisitions & Divestments and Commercial leadership roles in the Downstream, Midstream, and New Energies businesses. She has also served on the Board of Directors for several midstream joint ventures.

Akilah has deep experience developing country-specific strategies to promote and accelerate effective energy transitions. Her work in this space focuses on delivering Shell’s energy transition ambitions to provide more and cleaner energy solutions to meet global demand.

In her current role, Akilah leads a team dedicated to advancing and commercializing technologies that support a net-zero emissions future. This includes the Shell GameChanger Programme, where Shell partners with startups to accelerate the development of energy-related technology solutions. She is a Steering Committee member for GCxN, a collaboration with Shell’s Gamechanger Accelerator and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), working to help startup companies mature their technologies to accelerate energy transitions. Akilah is also a member of Greentown Labs Houston Advisory Board.

Akilah is a native Houstonian and holds a BSBA in Finance from the University of Tulsa and a Master’s degree in Organizational Development and Leadership from the University of San Francisco.