Alba Executive Management is primarily responsible for managing the Company’s day-to-day operations and implementing the
strategy and policies set forth by the Company’s Board of Directors.
ALI AL BAQALI Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)
Joined Alba in 1998
EXPERIENCE
Appointed as the CEO on 13 February 2020, Al Baqali has
been part of the Alba family for more than 2-decades and
brings years of thought leadership and honed experience
from within the Company. Al Baqali joined Alba as a
Purchasing Officer in 1998 then moved further up the ranks
to become Manager for Procurement (2010), Chief Financial
Officer (2013), Deputy CEO and Chief Supply Chain Officer
(2017) and Acting CEO (2019). In his Executive Management
roles, Al Baqali has been instrumental in Alba’s landmark
Line 6 Expansion Project, especially in securing the US$3
billion financing for the Project and formulating the
sourcing strategies for key raw materials. He also led the
Company to achieve a record breaking production of more
than 1.6 million tonnes in 2022 for the first time in its 51
years of operations.
As a Bahraini who grew from within Alba, Al Baqali believes
that Alba’s growth and success depend heavily on the
Company’s entrenched principles on Safety, Development
of Human Capital, Social and Civic Responsibility as well as
Community Development. Al Baqali places Environmental,
Social, and Governance (ESG) matters at the top his
priorities; his beliefs have translated into Alba establishing
c.US$40 million first-of-its-kind Spent Pot Lining Treatment
Plant Project, achieving the Aluminium Stewardship
Initiative (ASI) Performance Certification, setting-up a Fish
Farm at the Calciner & Marine Operations amongst many
other initiatives.
International Memberships & Positions
Vice-Chairman & Director of the International Aluminum
Institute (IAI) - 2019
Member of the Board, Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC) - 2019
Member of GCC Board Directors Institute - 2021
Member of Italia Bahrain Business Council - 2021
Bahrain Memberships & Positions
Member of the Board, Tenmou - 2014
Member of the Board, INJAZ - 2016
Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Bahrain Polytechnic - 2021
Board member of Saint Christopher’s School - 2020-2021
QUALIFICATION
Executive MBA from Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, USA - 2018
MBA from the French Arabian Business School, ESSEC - 2014
B.Sc. in Accounting from the University of Bahrain - 2005
Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS), UK - 1998
KHALID ABDUL LATIF Chief Marketing Officer
Chief Marketing Officer of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)
Joined Alba in 1989
EXPERIENCE
Appointed as Chief Marketing Officer in September 2015, Khalid heads the following departments: Casthouse (Maintenance & Operations), Customer Service & Marketing Operations, Sales (all regions) and Alba Americas
Khalid leads the Company’s global marketing strategies to drive innovation across its business divisions, depending
on the deep knowledge he has in both marketing and operations fields. He continuously increases Alba’s existing business and develops new markets to meet the Company’s
growth targets
Prior to his current Executive role, in 2012, he was promoted to Manager of Engineering and then to Alba’s Marketing
Manager for Customer Services & Marketing Operations
Khalid joined Alba as an apprentice in 1989 and worked in various operational areas including Power Station,
Reduction Lines and Carbon Plant. He rose through the ranks and was promoted from Supervisor to Engineer followed by Superintendent
QUALIFICATION
MBA from the French Arabian Business School/ESSEC (Bahrain). Completion certificate for the Executive Education Programme
in Strategic Sales Management from University of Chicago, USA Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Gulf University in Bahrain HND in Electrical & Electronics from Bahrain Training Institute BETTEC Bahrain.
Higher Diploma in Mechatronics from Abertay University, Dundee, UK.
AMIN SULTAN Chief Power Officer
Chief Power Officer of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)
Joined Alba in 1997
EXPERIENCE
Currently oversees Alba’s 3,600 MW ISO Power & Utilities and Power Station 5 new Block 4 680 MW (using J-class gas turbine
technology) combined cycle construction project
JOversaw the new 1,800 MW Power Station 5 (using H-class gas turbine technology), which was part of Alba’s Line 6 Expansion
Project
Also manages Alba wide property and business interruption all risks insurance
Played an instrumental role in Alba’s organization restructuring process in 2010, implementation of Lean & Six Sigma tools during
STAR project 2012-2011 and cost saving Project Titan
Prior to Alba, he spent 5 years at the leading Japanese control and instrumentation firm, Yokogawa Middle East & Africa B.S.C.(c),
wherein his role covered engineering, maintenance, and projects experiences in vast industries such power & utilities, refineries, and petrochemicals
QUALIFICATION
M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from University of Bahrain MBA from ESSEC Business School
Attended various Executive Management Programme at University of Chicago Business School and University of Cranfield School of
Management
WALEED TAMIMI Chief Supply Officer
Chief Supply Officer of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)
Joined Alba in 2011
EXPERIENCE
In his current position as a Chief Supply Officer, Waleed oversees the departments of Procurement & Warehousing, Strategic
Supply & Planning, Operational Excellence and Engineering
He held the position of Chief Administration & Supply Officer since August 2019, prior to which he was the Chief Administration
Officer and before that, the Director of Administration
He has held the position of Senior Manager of Strategic Supply & Planning, in charge of Alba’s procurement requirement of major
raw material and corresponding logistics, responsible for the management and development of Alba’s raw material and freight suppliers’ network in addition to managing all trading and selling initiatives for excess procured Alumina and surplus production of Calcined Petroleum Coke
In 2013, Waleed served as Manager - Operational Excellence where he led the operational excellence initiatives alongside
the continuous improvement strategy and roadmap. In this role, he was responsible for the development, establishment and initiation of an Enterprise Continuous Improvement and Cost
Cutting Programme (Project Titan), which aimed at improving quality, reducing lead time, and bringing in sizable cost reduction levels
Prior to his tenure with Alba, he was General Manager of Business
Improvement Group at Rezayat Group of Companies in Khobar,
Saudi Arabia where he led a strategy building initiative at Rezayat
Group, resulting ultimately in the establishment and direct
utilization of Balance Score Cards. He also led the development,
establishment and initiation of an Enterprise Excellence Program.
The developed system was called Rezayat Achieving Competitive
Excellence (RACE) and is a mix of the Six Sigma philosophy, the
Lean Manufacturing methodology and Continuous Improvement
principles
Waleed has served for 27 years in different capacities for a
number of companies in USA and in the Middle East ranging from
an Implementation Consultant in a software start-up company
in San Jose, California to a Six Sigma Black Belt in a world-class
Aircraft Manufacturer (Lear-Jet, Bombardier)
QUALIFICATION
Executive MBA from the French Arabian Business School / ESSEC
BS and MS degrees in Industrial Engineering from Wichita State University in the USA
Certified Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing Master Black Belt
DR. ABDULLA HABIB AHMED Chief Operations Officer
Chief Operations Officer of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)
Joined Alba in 1995
EXPERIENCE
Was appointed as Chief Operations Officer on 02 December 2018
He was appointed as Director of Reduction Line 6 Start-up in July 2017 and prior to this, he was Director of Reduction
Lines and Services since February 2015
Joined Alba as Trainee Engineer and during the last 27 years, Dr. Habib has grown in Alba and held the roles of
Superintendent Reduction Line, R&D Manager, Reduction Lines Manager, and Customers Technical Support Manager
Contributed along with other Executives to increasing the
Net Finished Production to 1.561 metric tonnes in 2021 by
aligning teams across different functions, driving innovative
ideas and introducing a higher efficiency culture among
COO workforce.
In-charge of Line 5-recovery in 2017, after a long power
outage, and led it as one of the safest and faster recoveries
in the world
Member of many international committees related to Aluminium Industry like The Minerals, Metals & Material Society (TMS) and The International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium (ICSOBA)
Previous advisor to the Engineering College of Bahrain University
QUALIFICATION
PhD in Chemical Engineering & Masters in Aluminium Smelting from University of New South Wales, Australia
MBA from ESSEC/French Arabian School
B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering with first honor class
BRYAN HARRIS Chief Financial Officer
Chief Financial Officer of Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba)
Joined Alba in 2009
EXPERIENCE
Appointed as Acting CFO on 04 December 2018, and CFO on
25 September 2019. As part of this role, Bryan has overseen
the Finance & Accounting, Legal, IT and Operational Excellence
departments, serves on a number of subsidiary directorships and
chairs a number of executive committees.
Joined Alba in 2009 as Chief Internal Auditor and Risk Officer,
reporting to the Board and Board Audit Committee, and indirectly
to the CEO. In addition to his responsibilities in overseeing
Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk management, he also led the
development and implementation of the Integrity and Ethics
program, including the Code of Conduct and Integrity Reporting
hotline system
Bryan worked for two Big 5 accounting and auditing firms, PWC
(from whom he received a university scholarship), and Arthur
Andersen. He then spent 2 years doing community service in
South Africa and Namibia before taking on a role as Financial
Manager of a South African telecoms company
Prior to moving to Alba and Bahrain, Bryan then spent 10 years in
in BP, one of the world’s largest energy companies, in international
leadership roles in Internal Audit, Risk, Strategy, Planning and
Performance Management as well as Compliance and Ethics
Five of these years were spent heading BP’s UK Internal Audit
team, and his last role was as the Manager of Compliance & Ethics
for BP Downstream Europe, Africa, and Australasia
QUALIFICATION
Chartered Accountant, Bachelor of Commerce and Post-Graduate in Accounting with 27 years of experience
ELINE HELAL Corporate Governance Officer
Director - Investor Relations, Insurance & Corporate Secretary
Joined Alba in 2011
EXPERIENCE
Appointed as the Director - Investor Relations, Insurance and
Corporate Secretary in February 2020.
Brings with her years of honed experience across matrixed
functions namely Investor Relations, Corporate Communications,
Corporate Secretariat, Corporate Governance, Insurance as well
as Strategy & Business Development
Joined Alba as Manager – Investor Relations (IR) in March 2011
to build the IR function from scratch, develop & lead the IR team.
In her 10+ years career in Alba, she also held on top of her IR
role, Public Relations for 5 years and was acting as Strategy and
Business Development Manager since July 2018
Has a well-versed experience in corporate governance,
compliance, and regulatory skills for working in Debt and Equity
markets, especially on Emerging Markets and in particular the
Middle East
Recognized as a media relator as well as financial communication
advisor for C-levels in the region
Started as a financial analyst at the Middle East mobile operator Zain Group in early 2007, then joined Investor Relations as senior IR analyst till January 2011
QUALIFICATION
Master of Business Administration from ESSEC
MSc in International Finance from University of New South Wales, Australia
Bachelor of Science in Banking & Finance from Lebanese American University (LAU)
Currently, enrolled in Harvard Business School for the Senior Executive Leadership Program (SELP) in 2023
The current shareholding of the CEO and CXOs are as follows. There were no transactions made in 2022:
The following risks, as described below, need to be carefully
considered as their occurrence could have a material/ adverse
impact on our business operations, financial condition, and
could ultimately result in a decline in the share price. Our
systems of governance, internal control and risk management
identify and provide responses to key risks through the
establishment of standards and other controls. Any failure of
these systems could lead to the occurrence, or re-occurrence,
of any of the risks described below:
The cyclical nature of the Company has historically meant
that there is significant Aluminium price and demand
volatility as well as a general production deficit in the
market. The Company has no control over several factors
that affect the price of Aluminium.
The Company operates in an industry that gives potential
rise to health, safety, security and environmental risks:
fire, equipment breakdown, attack on the physical or IT
infrastructure, civil strike or unrest, or loss of gas, power
or other utilities which may result in loss of operational
capability or shutdowns for significant periods; hence,
resulting in a significant adverse impact on the Company’s
operations and financial condition.
The loss of either of the Company’s three largest
customers, or its inability to recover the receivables’ dues
from one of them, may have a material adverse effect on
its financial condition and future prospects.
The Company relies on third-party suppliers for certain
raw materials, and any disruption in its supply chain or
failure to renew these contracts at competitive prices
may have an adverse impact on the Company’s financial
condition, operations, and future prospects.
The Company’s competitive position in the global
aluminium industry is highly dependent on continued
access to uninterrupted natural gas supply. Further
increase in the price of natural gas, or interruption in
its supply, could have a material adverse effect on the
Company’s business, financial condition, operations and
future prospects.
The Company’s business may be affected by shortages of
skilled employees (including management), labour cost
inflation and increased rates of attrition.
The Company depends on the provision of uninterrupted
transportation of raw materials and finished products
across significant distances. Interruption of these activities
could have a material adverse impact on the Company
especially as prices for shipping/transportation services
(particularly for sea transport) have increased over more
than a year.
The Company has interest rate hedging contracts in
connection to its c.US$1.5 Billion Syndicated Commercial
Loan, and has been recently exposed to mark-to-market
and realised losses from certain of the Company’s
derivative positions.
The Company is exposed to foreign currency fluctuations
which may affect its financial condition.
There is a high level of competition in the GCC aluminium
market, and the Company may lose its market share in the
GCC as its peers increase their production levels.
The Company strategy focus on the organic growth
and expansion of its operations, as well as cost savings
initiatives, which may not be achieved on time or on
budget.
The Company does not insure against certain risks, and
some of its insurance coverage may be insufficient to
cover actual losses incurred.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply
with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect the
Company’s business operations.
KPMG Fakhro has been Alba’s External Auditors since 2019.
KPMG Fakhro has been re-appointed as External Auditors
for 2022 further to Alba shareholders’ approval during the
Annual General Meeting which was held on 10 March 2022
[as per Section 10 – Principle, 10 First E of the Code: an
external auditor shall be appointed for a term of one financial
year, to be renewed for similar periods not exceeding five (5)
consecutive financial years].
Founded in 1968 by university friends Jassim M. Fakhro and
Hussain Kasim, KPMG has been in the Kingdom of Bahrain for
more than 50 years and has evolved to be one of the largest
professional services firms in the country.
KPMG in Bahrain employs over 360 professional staff led by 11
partners and provides Audit, Tax and Advisory services.
All figures reported above are VAT exclusive.
The Board Audit Committee consists of four Board Directors half of whom are independent, and all Directors are non-executive Directors. The members of the Board Audit Committee during 2022 were: Mr. Yousif A. Taqi (the Chairman of BAC who is independent), Mrs. Suha Karzoon, Shaikh Isa Bin
Khalid Al Khalifa, Mr. Iyad Al Garawi. In addition, Mr. Ahmed M. Al Khamis and Dr. Ahmed Al Balooshi were re-appointed in April 2020 as consultants to the Board Audit Committee.
As per the Charter of the Board Audit Committee (last version was approved on 01 December 2021), the Directors are required to meet at least 4 times a year and/or when necessary. In 2022, the Board Audit Committee met 5 times as follows:
The Nomination, Remuneration and Corporate Governance
Committee consists of three Directors: the Chairman of the
Board Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa (who chairs
this Committee) who is independent and two other Directors
Mrs. Rasha Sabkar and Mr. Ahmed Al Duriaan – both of whom
are non-independent; and all Directors are non-executive
Directors.
As per the Charter of the Nomination, Remuneration &
Corporate Governance Committee (last version was approved
on 10 June 2020), the Directors are required to meet at least 4
times a year and/or when necessary. In 2022, the Nomination,
Remuneration & Corporate Governance Committee met 4
times as follows:
Ms. Eline Hilal, holder of passport no. RL4178782 has been
appointed as the Corporate Governance Officer for Aluminium
Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) with effect from 01 September 2018.
Below are the contact details:
The Board Executive and ESG Committee consists of four Directors: The Chairman of the Board Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa (who chairs the Committee) who is independent, three other Board Directors: Mr. Omar Al Amoudi – who is a non-independent director and Mr. Tim Murray and Mr. Mutlaq H. Al Morished who are independent directors. All Directors in the Board Executive Committee are non-executive Directors.
As per the Charter of the Board Executive and ESG Committee (last version was approved on 28 September 2022), the Directors are required to meet at least 4 times a year and/or when necessary. In 2022, the Board Executive Committee met 4 times as follows:
The MOICT Code and the CBB Module state that most of the
members of the Audit Committee including its Chairman shall
be independent. Currently, as per the collective definitions in
the MOICT Code and the CBB Module, two out of four members
(including the Chairman) are classified as independent; the
remaining two are classified as non-independent since one of
the directors holds a management position in the controlling
shareholder and another one holds various director positions
at her parent company’s subsidiaries. The Alba Board has
reviewed this matter and is of the opinion that the specific
circumstances that led to the directors’ classification do not
present actual conflict of interest with the activities carried-out by the Audit Committee and do not impair the Directors’
abilities to exercise judgment free from conflicts.
The Company spent c.BD1.6 million for endorsing educational
programs in addition to various sport-based events as well as
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities which
were of interest to the local community.
Alba engages with its shareholders and investors on a regular
basis and as required as follows:
Shareholders’ Ownership Directors
Shareholders’ Distribution in Terms of Retail, Government and Institutional & in Terms of Local, Gulf, Arab, and Foreign
Shareholders’ Distribution by Size of Ownership
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), based on a board resolution on 30 December 2021, have approved the Management’s recommendation to transfer the registration of Alba Club WLL, currently registered under CR No. 99789-1, and register it as a branch of the Company under CR No. 999. The Company has
filed the necessary documentation with MOIC and is awaiting to hold the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to get the shareholders’ approvals in order to convert it into a branch of Alba.
EXPERIENCE
QUALIFICATION
