One of the best-known women in LNG shipping circles, Kathleen Brenner, has died aged 58, her company revealed on Friday.
Eisbrenner founded Houston-based LNG company NextDecade in 2010 and led the company to its listing on the Nasdaq two years ago. She served jointly as chairman and CEO until February 2018, and remained as NextDecade’s chairman of the board of directors until her death.
She enjoyed a remarkable career, and was widely viewed as one of the foremost female executives in the global LNG industry. She was formerly executive vice president at Royal Dutch Shell, where she was responsible for the management of the company’s global LNG portfolio and LNG trading business.
Prior to Shell, Eisbrenner was the founder and CEO of Excelerate Energy, focused on developing the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) industry. She also held various senior management positions at El Paso Energy.
“Kathleen was a true energy industry pioneer. We at NextDecade are grateful for her foresight and leadership, without which we would not be where we are today,” said Matthew Schatzman, president and CEO of NextDecade.