PETROLEUM EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR 2016
Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Saudi Aramco
Khalid Al-Falih was appointed Chairman of Saudi Aramco’s board in May 2015 and Minister of Health for Saudi Arabia at the same time, before becoming Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources in May 2016. Since joining the company in 1979, Al-Falih has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility, including Executive Vice President of Operations, as well as President and Chief Executive Officer from January 2009 to May 2015.
Al-Falih has led the expansion of Saudi Aramco’s oil production capacity -- the world’s largest – through a number of upstream projects and also significantly increased its refining and petrochemical capabilities via a series of new world-class facilities. The company has played a lead role in international petroleum markets as the world’s largest exporter of crude oil, with direct sales to all of the world’s main markets, as well as supplying its domestic market and international refining and marketing partnerships.