Ghassan Mirdad is the CEO of Arabian Drilling, Saudi Arabia, and is responsible for leading the national drilling champion in the Kingdom. Prior to joining Arabian Drilling, Ghassan was the CEO of Katerra, Saudi Arabia, a Silicon Valley high-tech construction company.

Previously, Ghassan worked at Schlumberger for 24 years, where he held several leadership roles in key countries across four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. Ghassan has global expertise in the oil and gas drilling industry, partnerships and investments, mergers and acquisitions, as well as business operations, and human resources. Ghassan’s most recent role at Schlumberger was as President of the Eastern Middle East region where he led operations spanning the UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Iraq, and Yemen. Moreover, Ghassan led the global training and development function for Schlumberger where he was ultimately responsible for upskilling over 100,000 employees worldwide. Ghassan is also the Founder and Non-executive Director at AFKAR Ventures, an EnergyTech firm focused on leveraging technology for the MENA region’s energy sector.

With a passion for training and developing talent, Ghassan has sat on various educational advisory boards including Abu Dhabi University, College of Business, and the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Saudi Chapter. Ghassan currently sits on the Board of Trustees of SADA, Saudi Arabian Drilling Academy. A Sloan fellow, Ghassan holds a master’s degree in Leadership and Strategy from London Business School.  He also has a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals. Ghassan is recognized for his leadership and has been ranked amongst the top 50 most influential executives in the Middle East by Forbes in 2018 and 2019.