Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: Olayan M. Alwetaid, Group CEO, stc has been named among the top 100 CEOs in the Middle East for 2022.
Alwetaid has been at the helm of stc since 2021, before which he was CEO of stc Bahrain. Solutions by stc debuted on the Saudi Exchange in 2021, with a market value of $4.8 billion. In March 2022, stc signed an agreement with Saudi’s Public Investment Fund to establish a jointly owned company specializing in services related to the Internet of Things. stc also plans to create a new data center company with an initial capital of $26.7 million. Alwetaid previously worked at Saudi Aramco.
The region’s top 100 CEOs represent 26 nationalities. Emiratis dominate with 19 entries, followed by Egyptians with 16, and Saudis with 15. Combined they managed revenues of over $1 trillion in 2021. Their companies are currently collectively worth more than $5 trillion.
“Irrespective of the economic environment, market conditions, and other factors, it is the CEO who bears most of the responsibility for the success or failure of the company they lead. This is becoming more apparent in the Middle East, where corporate governance has been improving for several years. There is now a clear separation between ownership and management in companies throughout the region. This trend is particularly strong in government-owned businesses, with even sectors such as defense and utilities now incorporated and even listed on stock exchanges. This has made CEOs focus more on long-term benefits that stem from innovation, technology, and ESG initiatives,” Forbes announced yesterday.
“When we released our first Top CEOs ranking in 2021, the mood among the Middle East’s CEOs focused on safety and the protection of business. This year has seen a reversal in fortunes, with record profits, new investments, large IPOs, and mega deals taking center stage. For example, so far in 2022, Amin H. Nasser has led Saudi Aramco to become the world’s most valuable company by market value again, usurping Apple. Meanwhile, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber led ADNOC as it took three of its subsidiaries—ADNOC Drilling, Fertiglobe, and Borouge—public, with Borouge’s $2 billion IPO becoming Abu Dhabi’s largest-ever IPO.
This year’s list of the Top 100 CEOs in the region consists of leaders from 26 nationalities. Emiratis dominated with 19 entries, followed by Egyptians with 16, and Saudis with 15. Banking and financial services is the most represented sector on the list with 27 CEOs, followed by eight telecom CEOs, and seven that each head energy and logistics companies. Combined they managed revenues of over $1 trillion last year. Their companies are collectively worth more than $5 trillion.”
