Rien Herber (1954) holds the position of professor in Geo Energy at the Energy and Sustainability Research Institute of the University of Groningen. After graduating as a geophysicist in Utrecht University in 1979 he started his career in Shell in the research lab in Rijswijk. Following assignments in Brunei, Thailand and the Netherlands he moved northward to Norway as exploration manager for Norske Shell, during which period the deep water Atlantic Margin was opened. In 1998 he moved back to NAM (Assen) as exploration manager. Still based in Assen, he was appointed in 2003 as Vice President Exploration for Shell in Europe. In this capacity he was responsible for the Shell operated exploration activities in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway, Ukraine, Sweden and Ireland, non-operated Shell interests in Germany, Denmark and Italy as well as new exploration opportunities outside these countries. In addition to these responsibilities he has been Deputy General Manager of NAM since 2004 until mid-2009 when he left Shell to take up the professorship in Groningen. Rien Herber is a member of the Dutch Mining Council since 2010.