Petrofac, a specialist in the design, build and maintenance of energy infrastructure, said that Ayman Asfari has decided to retire as Group Chief Executive at the end of the year to focus on his family, health and charitable interests.

Sami Iskander will join as Deputy Chief Executive on November 1, 2020 and, following a short transition period, will assume the role of Group Chief Executive from January 1, 2021, at which time he will also be appointed as an Executive Director to Petrofac’s Board of Directors.

On January 1, 2021, Ayman Asfari will be appointed as a Non-executive Director to Petrofac’s Board of Directors, to provide stability and continuity.

Chairman René Médori commented: “After nearly 40 years in the industry and 30 years with Petrofac, Ayman has decided the time has come to step back from his executive duties to focus on his family, health and charitable interests.

“The Board has been planning for his retirement for some time and I am delighted that we have been able to attract a candidate of Sami Iskander’s calibre, who was identified following a comprehensive external and internal search process. He has an excellent industry pedigree both in international oilfield services and upstream E&P, a deep and local understanding of our markets and client landscape, and a proven track record in business transformation.”

Ayman Asfari said: “I have been planning my retirement for a number of years after a long career at Petrofac and in the industry. There is never a perfect moment to step down, and it has been a difficult decision for me to make. However, I have decided now is the time to hand over the day-to-day running of the company to fresh leadership.

Sami Iskander said:  “I am delighted to be joining Petrofac at a pivotal and exciting time for the business. Petrofac is a truly outstanding company, with a best-in-class execution track record, a strong and differentiated competitive position in attractive core markets, and a growing new energies business. I have the utmost respect for what Ayman and Petrofac’s team have built. I look forward to working with them over the coming years to lead this fantastic company to deliver growth and create value for all of its stakeholders.”

Iskander is a senior executive with over 30 years’ international experience in both oilfield services and E&P companies.

He was appointed Executive Vice President for Shell’s Upstream Joint Ventures business in February 2016 until 2019, where he was accountable for business performance in Abu Dhabi, Brunei, Denmark, Egypt, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Oman.

Iskander is an Egyptian and French national, fluent in English, Arabic, Spanish and French and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the American University in Cairo. – TradeArabia News Service