Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, has appointed Hussain Al Khater as Managing Director for Saudi Arabia.
His appointment marks the latest milestone in the company's more than 50-year commitment to Saudi Arabia’s long-term growth strategy, playing a vital role in the Kingdom’s expanding energy and chemicals supply chain.
The appointment of Mr. Al Khater will herald a reorganization of Rockwell Automation business operations in the region. The new organization, headed by Hussain, will focus on Saudi market growth. The new structure allows Rockwell Automation to align with the requirements of the Kingdom Vision and aligns it for future growth.
This realignment will support the recent MoU that Rockwell Automation signed with Saudi Aramco last year during IKTVA Forum, the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals company, to support the oil giant’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) program, designed to drive local value creation, and to encourage the development of a diverse, sustainable, and globally competitive energy sector in the Kingdom.
Commenting on the appointment, Sebastien Grau, regional vice president, Middle East, Turkey & Africa (META) for Rockwell Automation said: "With full responsibility for the development of Rockwell Automation business operations in Saudi Arabia, Hussain Al Khater will play a pivotal role in reinforcing and expanding our presence in the Kingdom.
“At Rockwell Automation, we recognize the importance of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 Vision. This appointment will reinforce synergies for joint advocacy and support of the IKTVA initiative, another demonstration of our successful presence in Saudi Arabia.”
Rockwell Automation will continue to focus on several areas of collaboration with Aramco and its major customers, from product localization and digital transformation, to workforce development and training. The goal of the collaboration is to increase the companies’ contributions to Saudi Arabia’s localization efforts and create additional employment opportunities as a result.
Rockwell Automation has developed a five-year plan of investment in Saudi Arabia to support this collaboration. One important piece of this strategy is training and technology-sharing around digital technologies such as augmented reality and Industry 4.0. To facilitate this, Rockwell Automation is investing in a center of excellence at its Saudi Arabia headquarters, where customers can learn more about industrial digital transformation solutions.
