In mid-July Shell began the first of seven wildcat wells it will drill this year in the Kingdom's Rub al-Khali, a desert known as the Empty Quarter (a name Van der Veer hopes is merely metaphorical).

FORBES: Companies, People, Ideas

Her name is Carla Salazar and his name is Michel Van der Ven.

CNN: Tsunami tragedy: Your e-mails

And naturally the Tech City chief, Eric Van Der Kleij, is punching the air, welcoming the arrival of such an illustrious name in the technology industry as a real boost for the community.

BBC: Google's good news for Tech City