Nabilah al-Tunisi
Born1959 (age 64–65)
NationalitySaudi Arabian
EducationOregon State University

Nabilah al-Tunisi (born c. 1959) (Arabic:نبيلة التونسي), was the chief engineer for Saudi Aramco. In 2017 Al-Tunisi became the first female chairman of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).[1]

Early life and education

The daughter of a Saudi general, Al-Tunisi grew up in Riyadh. When she was 12, her family moved to Spain where her father became a military attaché at the Saudi Embassy in Madrid. While in Spain, she attended a Spanish-American school and took Arabic lessons at night. At the age of 15, she returned and completed high school in Riyadh.[2] But at the age of 17, she moved to Portland, Oregon to study electrical engineering at Lewis & Clark College,[3] with encouragement from her parents and where her brother was also studying.[4] Al-Tunisi's fascination with computers came as she was preparing for the requisite English test.[2]

By 1980 she had gained a Bachelor in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Portland and a masters in computer engineering from Oregon State University.[4][5]

Al-Tunisi also completed the Stanford’s Executive Business Program[6] in 2007, after being rejected two decades earlier for the Master's program there in Computer engineering.[2]

Career

Her uncle, a friend of the Saudi oil minister, encouraged her to apply to Saudi Aramco,[7] in Houston. Al-Tunisi had first searched and applied for various positions in the tech industry, including Microsoft, and PG&E. She even turned down a job with Apple Inc.[3][4] before she joined the company as a computer systems engineer in 1982. In 1984 she moved to the engineering and project management division. In 1996 she led the company´s planning department for IT facilities and electrical networks.[8]

She served as General Manager of Northern Area Project Management in Saudi Aramco.[9] For Saudi Aramco, she also directed one of the largest hydrocarbon and petrochemical complex.[6] Al-Tunisi developed software to monitor oil assets and implemented automation systems for the transport of oil and gas.[2]

She became the chief engineer of Aramco in 2015.[4] In 2018, the Sadara Chemical Company opened for business. The joint project between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical was led by Al-Tunisi and took nearly 10 years of planning. She is also preparing the plastic production crude oil-to-chemical plant together with Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation.[2]

Al-Tunisi is currently Managing Director of energy and water sector at Neom.[10]

Distinctions

In 2006, she was named on the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management. [4]

In 2010 Oregon State University honored her with membership of their Academy of Distinguished Engineers.[5]

In 2014 Forbes Middle East listed her at # 4 in their list of the 200 Most Powerful Arab Women in Executive Management.[11]

In 2018, she ranked 17th on the Forbes List of most influential women in the Middle East.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Musthak Parker (27 February 2017). "Rise of women in Saudi banking and finance". New Straits Times. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kelsey Warner (23 October 2016). "With A Saudi Aramco IPO On The Way, Nabilah Al Tunisi Is Prepared For Change". Forbes. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 Christopher Helman (24 July 2008). "The Other Face of Saudi Aramco". UMKC WordPress. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Madalyn Weston (14 March 2018). "Celebrating Women in STEM: Nabilah Al-Tunisi". UMKC WordPress. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 Oregon State University honors Saudi woman Archived 2015-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, Saudi Gazette, April 14, 2010
  6. 1 2 "Nabilah Al-Tunisi : Academy of Distinguished Engineers - 2010". Oregon State University. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  7. ↑ Christopher Helman, The Other Face of Saudi Aramco, Forbes, 24 July 2008
  8. ↑ "Nabilah Makki Al-Tunisi". Women2030. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Nabilah Al-Tunisi". Woman Economic Forum. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "Nabilah Al-Tunisi – NEOM". naseba. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  11. ↑ "200 Most Powerful Arab Women - 2014: Executive Management". Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2015-04-06.
  12. ↑ Cleofe Maceda (17 September 2018). "UAE expats among 100 most Influential women in Middle East". Gulf News. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
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