H.E. Aali M. Al Zahrani wraps up over 30 years at Aramco

H.E. Aali M. Al Zahrani has bid a fond farewell to an Aramco career that spanned over three decades to take up the newly created government position of First Governor of the Kingdom’s High Commission for Safety and Industrial Security.

He served the last nine years of his career with Aramco’s Safety and Industrial Security organization, most recently holding the role of senior vice president of Safety and Industrial Security.

Al Zahrani was honored at a special leaving ceremony in Dhahran attended by president and CEO, Amin Nasser, members of corporate and executive management, colleagues, friends and family members.

Addressing those attending, Al Zahrani said, “Aramco means a lot to me, the reason that I was selected by the government for this new role is, not because I am Aali Al Zahrani, but because I had a 30-plus year career with Aramco. 

“The government respects everybody in the company because the company enables you to take on high positions.”

Positive impact

“Aramco selected me when I was young, it challenged me, it gave me opportunities and supported me in every aspect of my career and life. The company has had a positive impact on everything around me, on my family – everything. 

“When we talk about training and development, Aramco offered me a lot of opportunities, it sharpened my skills and molded my personality.”

He paid tribute to the Aramco leadership, including president and CEO, Amin Nasser, describing him as “the inspiring leader, a brilliant teacher and a person with a big heart. He ably succeeded in leading the company through its most difficult days.”

Al Zahrani, joined the company at Abqaiq as a young engineer in 1991. In 2012 he returned to Abqaiq as the Plant Maintenance manager, and in 2015 filled the role of general manager of Industrial Security Operations (ISO) in Dhahran.

In 2019, he became executive director of Safety and Industrial Security before later being appointed to the positions of vice president and senior vice president.

Challenging days

His tenure saw some of the most challenging periods in Aramco’s history, including the 2019 attacks on Abqaiq and Khurais and the Covid 19 pandemic that followed. Al Zahrani leaves the company with the Safety and Industrial Security organization having broken all of its KPI records.

“I give my thanks firstly to Aramco as a company – that is the reason for my selection for this new role,” he said. “It is a very caring company that has positively affected the lives of millions of people.”

Advice to young employees

“My first advice for young people joining Aramco is to go after every experience. They come from respected universities across the world, but what they lack is experience. 

“The young people should treat learning as a continuous process and they need to be flexible. There are important skills still to learn including communications and learning the importance of flexibility in the workplace.”

He added, “I would advise them to always take their jobs seriously. In the last five years, Aramco has experienced unprecedented challenges, but, we demonstrated resilience in extremely challenging environments.”

Keep learning and be patient

Al Zahrani concluded by urging Aramco’s young talent to grasp the opportunities afforded by the company.

“I would urge them to accept challenges, gain as much experience as possible and ask the right questions, sharpen your abilities and capabilities and most of all be patient – things will happen, just focus on the learning and be patient.”

Caption for top photo: H.E. Aali M. Al Zahrani is pictured here at his farewell ceremony with president and CEO Amin Nasser and executive vice president of HR & Corporate Services Nabeel A. Al-Jama’. (Photo: Moayed A. Al-Qattan/MPD)