Saudi Arabia is undergoing significant changes to diversify its oil-dependent economy and to meet the socioeconomic goals set in Saudi Vision 2030. 

In a bid to achieve these goals, the government is taking all necessary measures to further improve the performance of all sectors of the economy. 

Maaden (Saudi Arabian Mining Co.) is one of the key players in the Kingdom’s economy. On June 1, Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Saadan was appointed the chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu. Al-Saadan has been a board member of Maaden since April 2016.

He has also served as senior vice president of finance, strategy and development at Saudi Aramco and held various other key positions such as vice president of planning between 2011 and 2014, vice president of engineering services between 2010 and 2011, vice president of information technology, and executive director of information technology, and director of business analysis between 2005 and 2007. Al-Saadan also worked at the Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Co. Ltd. (SAMREF) and served as its president and chief executive officer between 2002 and 2005. 

The newly appointed chairman of Maaden has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran. He received a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, US, in 1991, and a master’s degree in business administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, in 2007. 

He has been a member of several councils and committees at Saudi Aramco. Al-Saadan spent the first 10 years of his career working with Saudi Aramco as an operational engineer in many departments, including manufacturing and control methods management, and the management of Abqaiq laboratories.