Al-Molhem takes over at Saudi Arabian
The former president of Saudi Telecom (STC), Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Molhem, has taken over as director general at Saudi Arabian Airlines, replacing Dr Khaled Ben-Bakr, who has stepped down as head of the flag carrier. He had been at the helm for more than a decade and was only offered another four-year term a few months ago.
The change comes as the airline moves towards privatisation, a process which had been strongly supported by Ben-Bakr and is now expected to accelerate under the new leadership. In a recent statement, finance minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf confirmed that Saudi Arabian is next in line for privatisation, probably before the end of the year.
Al-Molhem has a reputation as an expert on privatisation in the Arab world. While serving as chief financial officer at STC he led the restructuring of finance at the Ministry of Post, Telegraph and Telephone after its privatisation. STC itself floated a 30% stake in the company in 2003 when Al-Molhem was chief executive. He previously served as CEO of Al Marai Company, one of the largest dairy companies in the Gulf; was a member of the board of the Saudi British Bank, where he helped to manage and implement the bank’s business strategies; and worked as team leader for the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. He started his career as a base engineer with the Royal Saudi Air Force.
Source: Airline Business