Pauline has the power to address extreme animal cruelty.
Why isn’t she using it?
*Image representative of battery cage facility
Pauline van der Meer Mohr cannot be trusted.
Pauline is a Board Director with Ahold Delhaize, a supermarket conglomerate known for its U.S. chains Giant, Stop & Shop, Hannaford, and Food Lion.
Under Pauline’s leadership, Ahold Delhaize is neglecting a serious animal cruelty issue. In the United States, Ahold Delhaize stores source the vast majority of their eggs from controversial facilities where chickens are confined in cages so small that they can barely move. This practice is so unsafe and inhumane that it is illegal in many U.S. states and the entire European Union.
Pauline has the power to help bring a solution to the table, but so far, the company continues to stall progress.
How can someone ignore such horrible conditions for animals?
Many companies have already banned battery cages like those pictured above for a reason. These “farms” are filthy, dark sheds lined with thousands of hens crammed inside tiny wire cages. In these facilities, hens are forced to eat, sleep, defecate, and lay eggs in the same cage day after day. Not even McDonald’s or Taco Bell will sell these eggs.
This is not humane farming. This is not sustainable farming. This is archaic and backwards, and Pauline knows it.
Affiliating with Pauline is a liability.
Pauline van der Meer Mohr has established a reputation for herself in the corporate sector, particularly in the Netherlands. Now retired from full-time positions, she keeps busy with various advising roles and speaking engagements.
Below, we’ve outlined Pauline’s career in further detail, with a particular focus on the scandals that occurred throughout: from ethical lapses at giant oil companies and mega banks to today’s crisis at Ahold Delhaize.
Today, Pauline is on the board of directors at NN Group, an insurance company, and ASM, a large semi-conductor company. She is also an ambassador for Chapter Zero Netherlands, a climate justice organization, and has ties to Deloitte, VEUO, and European Leadership Platform.
These companies are risking their reputations by working with Pauline:
Pauline’s company is misleading its customers.
A survey of Ahold Delhaize customers found that 85 percent opposed caged hen housing, preferring that hens be kept in open barns. The survey also found that the company’s labeling is misleading to a significant portion of its customers, who incorrectly believe eggs with certain labels at Ahold Delhaize stores are cage-free. This confusion and potential mistrust put the company’s brand reputation at risk.
Ahold Delhaize’s customers expect the company to transition to 100 percent cage-free, and their loyalty depends on the company sticking to its word.
*Image representative of typical battery cage facility
PAULINE’S PATTERN
Power, pay, and looking the other way
Shell and NAM: crisis years
Before entering academia and serving on corporate boards, Pauline spent 15 years in senior roles at Shell and its subsidiary NAM. Setting aside the early days of Shell’s dubious marketing tactics and greenwashing, major crises defined these years: the Brent Spar disposal backlash and consumer boycotts, as well as the Ogoni human-rights scandal tied to the 1995 executions of the “Ogoni Nine,” which Amnesty International says warrants criminal investigation into Shell’s complicity. In the Netherlands, NAM’s Groningen gas drilling caused earthquakes and a damning parliamentary report that found the company prioritized profits over safety. These events happened during Pauline’s Shell era and illustrate the corporate culture she rose through and the kinds of companies she is willing to work with.
HSBC’s ongoing misconduct on Pauline’s watch
Pauline was on this mega bank’s board from 2015 to 2022. On Pauline’s watch, the bank drew criticism for freezing Hong Kong activists’ accounts and for its fossil-fuel financing, which triggered a high-profile 2021 window-smashing protest at its London HQ. As Chair of HSBC’s Remuneration Committee, Pauline approved multimillion-dollar compensation packages for executives while staff bonuses fell. In 2021, the CEO’s pay rose 14% to £5.6m, with potential to reach £10.5m, as the bank cut its employees’ bonus pool by 4%.
NN Group: old scandal, new markets
Pauline joined NN Group’s board in 2023. In 2024, NN agreed to a €360m settlement over Dutch investment-linked insurance products with hidden costs. In 2025, Follow The Money reported NN selling strikingly similar high-fee policies in Belgium and Greece that leave clients with meager returns. Pauline joined the company amid these scandals and continues to act as a supervisor. Was Pauline ignorant of this scam, or was she at least willing to use her power to change the company’s harmful practices? Unlikely.
