Language
You can read the magazine in one of the following languages
5-min read
Bookmark now
Copy Link
Shell Lubricants Supply Chain – APAC has had a great 2025. Amid a complex supply chain footprint transformation and digital evolution, the organization managed to score four wins at the Asian Oil & Gas Awards in November 2025, including Digital Transformation Initiative of the Year.
It also recently won the Sustainable Supply Chain Award at the 2025 Supply Chain Excellence Awards APAC, celebrating its integrated effort to deliver innovative, customer-centric and scalable sustainability solutions across the region.
It’s all part of Shell’s quest to deliver more value with less emissions, which is taking place around the world, a journey that parallels that of Michael Alcantara, Shell’s General Manager of Lubricants Supply Chain, Asia–Pacific.
“I’ve lived a life far larger than a small boy from a small village in the southern Philippines could ever have imagined,” Alcantara tells The CEO Magazine.
The first in his family to pursue higher education outside his hometown of Davao City, Alcantara’s journey began with a scholarship from Ateneo de Manila University, one of the top universities in the Philippines.
“I was grateful to have a number of choices once I left university,” he recalls. “There were consultancies like McKinsey and Bain and fast-moving consumer goods firms like Procter & Gamble and Unilever. And of course, there was Shell.”
“At Shell, our purpose is clear and compelling: We exist to power progress together.”
Known globally for partnering with Ferrari, Shell has always been a prestigious brand synonymous with high energy and winning teams.
“It was also the overall employee value proposition, which offered a platform for meaningful career growth and the ability to care for my parents and siblings,” he says.
Soon, Alcantara was enjoying his first paycheck, his first corporate travel and his first company car.
“Since then, I’ve lived in nine cities across the Philippines, the United Kingdom and now Singapore, and I’ve been exposed to different positions that allowed me to lead high-performing teams, transform how we operate and drive strategic direction across the business,” he adds.
All of which have come in handy in his current role, making him a pivotal contributor to the global number one supplier of finished lubricants, as ranked by Kline. From oils and greases to advanced cooling fluids and specialty thermal solutions, Shell Lubricants keeps the world moving forward.
It’s a booming business for the energy company, and since joining in February 2025, Alcantara has been able to draw on the breadth of his previous roles to help build greater resilience in Lubricants Supply Chain transformation.
“I’d gone from sales and operations to strategy and planning, from asset management and new business development to mergers and acquisitions [M&A],” he remembers.
“I was sent to London, where I covered Europe, the Americas and South Africa to reshape the retail real estate portfolio. Eventually, as the Global Head for Retail Real Estate, I was tasked with a challenging yet exciting endeavor to transform Shell’s significant real estate asset portfolio into world-class assets.”
With a strong track record in complex commercial deal‑making, Alcantara was appointed General Manager for Downstream M&A in Asia, covering trading & supply, chemicals, global lubricants, mobility and low‑carbon solutions.
“That stretched me further into large‑scale, complex, high‑stakes commercial undertakings,” he confirms.
“I think the beauty of Shell is that sometimes I feel they trust me more than I trust myself. They have a way of committing to and unleashing the potential of a person, and entering the lubricant supply chain was another exciting opportunity for me.”
According to Alcantara, another of Shell’s virtues is its clarity of purpose.
“That matters to me because even when things are uncertain or complex, a clear direction gives us the confidence and resilience that we’ll get there eventually – together,” he says.
“At Shell, our purpose is clear and compelling: We exist to power progress together. It’s simple yet profound, and it focuses on connecting people with energy and working to help deliver cleaner energy solutions to power lives.”
Alcantara says he and his team feel they’re contributing to that purpose every day to the point where it gives fulfillment beyond work.
“It feels like we’re giving back to the communities around us, and that aligns so well with my own core purpose,” he adds.
While Shell is a powerhouse in the global lubricant sector, Alcantara admits it’s not an easy position to be in.
“There are plenty of challenges to stay on top,” he points out. “Supply chain needs to be reliable and agile while ensuring competitive supply security. Everyday brilliant basics are absolutely integral, grounding us in operational discipline, flawless execution and the everyday excellence required to deliver consistently, no matter the complexity.
“All of this, of course, leads to making sure we deliver reliable and cutting‑edge solutions for the evolving needs of our customers.”
As such, he says it’s important that the company constantly high grades its supply chain to weather cost increases, geopolitical instability and other external challenges, calling it one of its “winning edges”.
Shell is able to do this through its world-class talent pool as well as what Alcantara calls its transformational partnerships.
“We look at partnerships as strategic and as one of the ways to develop innovations, whether it’s from a digital perspective or through the channels that we sell products,” he explains.
“That’s critical for me. We also have to have a shared purpose in delivering what’s required today and tomorrow.”
“A great leader has to be able to inspire with a vision.”
Above all, however, the partnership has to have the right to win.
“That’s about making sure we’re creating that unique edge that other partnerships don’t have. We build trust, we bring our partners on the journey and we work together to drive success.”
Alcantara says the next generation of the company is about becoming the world’s leading integrated energy company.
“To me, a critical component of that vision is the strategy to deliver more value with less emissions. It’s a big challenge but at the same time purposeful, as it aims to drive energy transition in step with society,” he says.
“That’s why a great leader has to be able to inspire with a vision, whether it’s energy transition, building supply chains or creating safer workspaces. Highly engaged teams are more likely to deliver superior business outcomes.”
Just as Shell did for him, Alcantara is dedicated to unlocking the potential of those around him in pursuit of high-powered progress.
“It’s about unleashing that potential and providing a clear road map so people can deliver the vision to the best of their abilities,” he concludes.
RELATED ARTICLES 
Home
Podcasts
Covers
Be Featured
Community
