Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Steel has appointed Saeed Ghumran Al Romaithi as the new chief executive officer, who will be the company’s first UAE national to assume the position.

Suhail Mubarak Athaeeth Al Ameri, chairman of Emirates Steel, said: “The appointment of Saeed Al Romaithi comes as part of a clear and well-defined strategy to increase the numbers of UAE nationals within the workforce and to make benefit of high qualified cadres in leadership positions.”

“Al Romaithi and his colleagues have joined the company and handled a number of advanced assignments until they qualified for the new positions. Their promotion comes at a time when the company is expanding rapidly and moving quickly to realize the goals and strategic ambitions of our leadership.

“His breadth of experience makes him an ideal candidate for leading Emirates Steel at a time of complex industry change. He takes over a growing company at a key moment in its development and we look forward to supporting him and the Emirates Steel team in the challenges ahead,” he added.

“Al Romaithi is our ideal choice to manage the company, and his appointment reinforces Emirates Steel’s objective of enabling UAE nationals, with the relevant expertise and know-how, to further develop the company as one of the most significant contributors to Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification efforts,” Al Ameri added.

According to the company’s 2010-2015 strategic plan, half of the people working for Emirates Steel will be UAE nationals by 2015. Currently, 25 per cent of the workforce at Emirates Steel are UAE nationals.

Al Romaithi said: “The company has been able to positively contribute to the UAE’s growth during the past six years of its progress.  By holding on to its strategy of development, the company was able to become in few years’ time the largest integrated steel plant in the UAE.”

“As CEO this makes me shoulder more responsibility to preserve and heighten our accomplishments. Our priorities in the coming few years would be to increase the numbers of UAE nationals within our Company, in line with the guidance of our parent Company, the General Holding Corporation (GHC),” he added.

Al Romaithi, who also serves as senior vice president of Operations, is a graduate of California State University in electrical engineering.

He worked for GHC before he moved to Emirates Steel, where worked as a production engineer, and later on advanced through a number of positions. – TradeArabia News Service