Jean Baptiste August Kessler
| Jean Baptiste August Kessler | |
|---|---|
| Born |
15 December 1853 Batavia, Dutch East Indies |
| Died | 14 December 1900 (aged 46) Naples, Italy |
| Occupation | oil entrepreneur and chief executive, Royal Dutch Petroleum |
| Spouse(s) | M.J.J. (Margo) Kessler-De Lange |
Jean Baptiste August Kessler (15 December 1853 – 14 December 1900) was a Dutch entrepreneur and oil explorer who was largely responsible for the growth and development of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., now known as Royal Dutch Shell.
Kessler, who was known by his middle name August, was born in a family of 12 children, four of whom died in infancy. He became managing director of the Royal Dutch nearly from its inception. Aeilko Jans Zijlker acquired the original oil concession in Indonesia and the "Royal" imprimatur but died suddenly of a tropical disease in 1890. The board of directors turned to Kessler, who was a son-in-law of Geldolph Adriaan De Lange, one of the directors, to head a committee of inquiry into whether the faltering enterprise was still viable. He took the post with the understanding he would be made managing director and run the company. Kessler had vast experience in the Dutch East Indies, having abandoned his studies at the Delft University at the age of 23 to seek his fortune there. He had become partner in Tiedeman & Van Kerchem, an important business firm, but after financial difficulties in 1888 "returned broken and shattered in health to Europe, where he sought and found recovery".
Kessler literally built the Royal Dutch almost from scratch, under very difficult circumstances: "an inclement climate, a hostile jungle and ineradicable lalang (sharp, tough grass), local crews difficult to manage, equipment that did not fit, tropical diseases, operational set-backs such as fires, and absence of adequate geological know-how", wrote J. Ph. Poley in Eroica: The Quest for Oil in Indonesia (1850-1898). "There were also financial, regulatory and procedual hurdles to overcome...The Company survived mainly thanks to the turn-around effected by Jean Baptiste August Kessler."
As Anthony Sampson put it, the company's origins belonged "to the world of Joseph Conrad rather than Anthony Trollope." When Kessler arrived in Sumatra in October 1891, after a two-month sea voyage, he found that the works manager had disappeared in a huff. He discovered that the drilling site was in terrible shape, with essential supplies disappearing or strewn about in the constantly approaching jungle. But he plunged into his work with enormous energy. Due to his ability to quickly solve all kinds of technical problems and his incredible energy, he was accepted by his subordinates as "Toean Besor"—the Big Boss—not withstanding what many would describe as a difficult, high-strung personality.
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