Qataris Are Among Forbes List of Most Powerful CEOs in the Middle East

Two Qatari personalities topped the top 10 positions in Forbes magazine's list of the most powerful CEOs in the Middle East 2022, and Qatari entrepreneurs occupied various positions in the list, which includes 100 business leaders.

His Excellency Engineer Saad bin Sherida Al-Kaabi, Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Managing Director, and CEO of Qatar Petroleum ranked fifth on the list.

According to Forbes magazine, Al Kaabi joined Qatar Energy in 1986 as a student at the time. He was appointed CEO and Managing Director in September 2014.

Qatar Energy Company, formerly known as Qatar Petroleum, is engaged in the exploration, development, and refining of the country's natural resources, the production of natural gas, petrochemicals, and fertilizers, in addition to steel and aluminum.

His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Group CEO of Qatar Airways, was ranked eighth on the list.

Al Baker has led Qatar Airways since 1997, and today, he oversees a team of more than 41,026 people.

During the 2022 fiscal year ending last March, Qatar Airways carried more than 18.5 million passengers, compared to 5.8 million passengers during the same period the previous year.

The group’s revenues increased by 78% during the fiscal year 2022 to reach $14.4 billion.

The group's assets amounted to $41.4 billion at the end of last March.

Al Baker was appointed Secretary-General of the Qatar National Tourism Council in 2019.

Abdullah Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Group CEO of Qatar National Bank (QNB), ranked 11th.

Al-Khalifa joined the group in 1996 and assumed his current position in November 2018.

The (QNB) Group is the largest banking institution in the Middle East and Africa with total assets of $300.3 billion at the end of 2021 and generated an operating income of $7.8 billion last year.

And ranked 40th Qatari Aziz Al-Othman Fakhro, as the managing director and CEO of Ooredoo Group.

Fakhro has been leading Qatar's largest telecom company since November 2020, having been a member of the board of directors since 2011.

The company's revenue has increased from $7.9 billion in 2020 to $8.2 billion in 2021, and It has 121 million customers in 10 countries within The Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia region by the end of 2021.

Abdullah Al-Sulaiti, CEO of "Nakilat", ranked 72.

Al Sulaiti has been leading "Nakilat" since 2013, after joining the company in February 2011.

The company owns a fleet of 69 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers and recorded revenues of $292 million in the first quarter of this year.

Salem Khalaf Al-Mannai, CEO of Qatar Insurance Group ranked 77th. Al-Mannai joined Qatar Insurance Group in 2001.

He previously held several positions in the group, such as Group Vice President and Chief Executive Officer in the Middle East, North Africa, and Global Markets, and was responsible for the Energy, Marine, and Shipping Insurance Department, before being appointed in 2019 as Vice President and Group CEO.

According to Forbes, the CEO is often responsible for the success or failure of the company he leads, regardless of the economic environment, market conditions, and other factors; This became evident in the Middle East, especially after the improvement in the application of corporate governance principles over the past years, and the tendency of many companies to separate ownership and management.