Six Bahrain CEOs in Forbes top 100 list

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Forbes Middle East’s annual list of the most powerful CEOs in the region for the year 2021 has included six Bahraini company executives. They are James Eastlack, Adel Al Laban, Ali Al Bakkali, Mikkel Vinter, Jean-Christophe Durand and Alok Gupta.

The elite list includes 100 top chief executives made up of 24 nationalities representing 21 sectors.

Saudi Arabia leads them with 18 CEOs, followed by the UAE and Egypt with 16 each, making up half of the list.

The banking and financial services sector leads the list with 29 chief executives, accounting for nearly a third of the rankings. Forbes bases its annual classification on the evaluation of the size of CEOs’ companies, based on many different criteria, most notably the size of the company in terms of revenues, assets and number of employees, as well as the personal achievements of chief executives during the past year 2020, and their impact on their companies and the sector on a wider scale.

James James Eastlack: Ranked 35th

The list of executives for Bahraini companies is topped by the Acting CEO of the Oil and Gas Holding Company, James Kenneth Eastlack, American, who is ranked 35th.

Eastlack led the Oil and Gas Holding Company in commissioning the first terminal to receive and re-convert LNG in Bahrain in January 2020.

He also supervised the signing of a joint study agreement between the Holding Company for Oil and Gas and Chevron, to assess future demand for gas and support the future supply chain of the LNG terminal in Bahrain.

Adel Al Laban: Ranked 59th

The Group CEO and Managing Director of Ahli United Bank, Adel Al Laban, an Egyptian, is ranked 59th. Al Laban leads one of the largest banks in the Middle East, with a workforce of more than 4,000 people distributed over 151 branches in eight countries, and the bank signed the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking Services, which work to align global banking practices with the sustainable development goals. Al Laban has more than four decades of experience.

Ali Al Bakkali: Ranked 76th

The CEO of Aluminum Bahrain (Alba), Ali Al Baqali, a Bahraini, is ranked 76th. He heads one of the world’s largest aluminium smelters outside of China, with a market capital of $1.9 billion and total assets of $6.3 billion as of December 2020. Al Bakkali has been working with Alba for more than two decades.

Mikkel Vinter: Ranked 82nd

Batelco Communications Group CEO Mikkel Vinter, a Dane, is ranked 82nd. Batelco generated revenues of BD387.3 million ($1,027.3 million) in 2020. The company recently launched the largest commercial data centre in Bahrain with an area of 12,236 square metres.

Jean-Christophe Durand: Ranked 94th

The CEO of the National Bank of Bahrain, Jean-Christophe Durand, a French, is ranked 94th and fifth-highest CEO of Bahraini companies on the list. Durand brings about 40 years of experience in the banking and financial services sector, of which he has spent 30 years in the GCC. He assumed his current position as CEO of the National Bank of Bahrain in 2016.

Alok Gupta: Ranked 100th

Another Chief Executive, Alok Gupta, an Indian, is ranked 100th. Gupta joined Y.K. Almoayyed & Sons in 2006 and has around 23 years of experience. The group represents over 300 international brands.