Emirates Steel’s Board of Directors agreed to appoint engineer Saeed Ghumran Al Romaithi as the new Chief Executive Officer.

Commenting on Al Romaithi’s new appointment as CEO, HE Engineer 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."

He added that "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".

He pointed out that the new CEO’s "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."

"We are fortunate to have someone of Al Romaithi’s caliber and experience step up to lead Emirates Steel. We need renewed leadership to successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead. He is a strong communicator who is customer focused with deep leadership capabilities and solid understanding of our products and markets."

He continued, "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". 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% of the workforce at Emirates Steel are UAE nationals.

On his appointment as CEO, 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".

He said he was proud to be part of a pool of talented UAE nationals now working for Emirates Steel. "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.

He continued, "I am honored to be entrusted with this key position and to be given the opportunity to lead such a highly qualified team. Emirates Steel has already made its mark on the regional steel sector in just a few short years. Together, we will be focused on achieving even greater success to support the Emirate’s economic diversification initiative".

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, starting as a Production Engineer and working his way to Vice President of Primary Production, and later on assumed his current position.