Mathijs Bouma
Innovation Through Design Thinking Participant | Senior Regulations Advisor, Shell Trading & Supply
Joining Shell in 2022, Mathijs is currently Senior Regulations Advisor in the Trading & Supply business line, operating at the intersection of regulation, strategy, and global markets. Prior to Shell, he built a strong foundation in legal and compliance roles within the financial industry, leading complex implementation projects shaped by regulatory transformation and new market opportunities.
Across every role, he has remained guided by one belief: meaningful change is built on trust. He sees trusted environments, where stakeholders feel heard, teams collaborate openly, and ideas can surface, as the foundation of successful transformation, grounded in integrity, authenticity, and loyalty.
I joined Shell in 2022 and currently serve as a Senior Regulations Advisor within the Trading & Supply business line. Prior to this, I held several legal and compliance roles in the financial sector, where I led multiple implementation projects driven by regulatory change and strategic market expansion initiatives.
Throughout my career, I have come to appreciate that creating a trusted environment is fundamental to successfully delivering complex projects. Trust fosters stakeholder alignment, encourages open dialogue, and enables teams to exchange ideas with confidence and creativity. My approach to leadership and collaboration is guided by the values of integrity, authenticity, and loyalty.
I live in the Hague area with my wife and our two daughters. Outside of work, I am actively involved in sport, and in 2025 I celebrated my 30th anniversary as a hockey trainer and coach.
“A powerful experience - practical frameworks, tangible results, and a truly diverse cohort that accelerated my learning.”
“The programme sharpened how I structure innovation and deliver real results. It also helped me bring stakeholders along with clarity and confidence.”
By enrolling with this course, I wanted to develop other competencies than my legal skills. The legal and compliance environment might not always be seen as a key area of innovation, but it is an area of development with significant impact on business strategies and future shaping of companies. The online proposition makes the programme suitable for working at your own pace in your own time.
Delivering implementation projects is an important motivation in my work life. Aligning diverse stakeholder perspectives, while navigating towards the company’s objectives, is often complex. The course, Innovation through Design Thinking, sharpened my ability to define the client in the project, to analyse the problem statement and to guide my stakeholders more effectively on the innovation journey.
At the start of the course, I wanted to learn how I can more effectively guide my stakeholders on a journey of change or innovation. However, soon I discovered that the stakeholder journey starts with a precise client definition and a thorough definition of the problem statement.
“I have become more conscious of how design thinking can help me to create the narrative for change, by deeply analysing the problem statement, investigating the opportunities and assessing the business value.”
“The course can really support your growth as a leader by increasing the impact of your decisions and actions, both professionally and personally.”
In my current role, I regularly apply elements of design thinking, whether implementing new regulatory requirements or structuring and leading teams. From defining a clear problem statement to generating ideas and crafting a compelling narrative, the programme has made me far more intentional and structured in my approach. It deepened my understanding of how design thinking can shape meaningful change: by thoroughly analysing the problem, exploring opportunities, and evaluating business value before moving into action.
I have come to recognise that innovation challenges, large or small, exist in every part of an organisation. The Innovation through Design Thinking course with LBS Online equips you with the tools to bring structure to innovation. More importantly, it pushes you to identify, develop, and bring to life your own real-world innovation challenge.
Innovation Through Design Thinking
Master the principles of design thinking to ignite, manage and sustain innovation in today's Gen AI and digital-first environment.
