Corporate Governance

Fawaz Aljasser is an executive leader who has spent nearly twenty years at Almarai Company, during which he held several leadership positions, including overseeing the bakery, seafood, and human resources sectors. He also served as the General Manager of Teeba Company, a subsidiary of Almarai in Jordan, and managed the Food Industries Polytechnic. In addition, he held the position of Chief Executive Officer at Naqua Company. He holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and has participated in leadership programs at IMD, Michigan Ross, and London Business School.

Engr. Ahmed Abu Al-Ghaith holds the position of Executive Vice President for Quality and Support Services (Regulatory, HSS, and Sustainability) and is responsible for quality and support services for Almarai Company by applying business strategies that are compatible with the overall strategy of the Company. Before joining Almarai, Ahmed worked for several companies in the food and beverage sector, including the National Water Company where he undertook many tasks including developing governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) operations, regulatory requirements for information security, industrial security and occupational health, crisis and disaster management, innovation, strategy development and implementation, and business planning. Ahmed holds a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering with a focus on industrial engineering and operations research from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia.

Andrew Mackie is the Executive Vice President for Farming at Almarai, through which he is responsible for the global farming operations for Dairy and Arable Farming. Andrew joined Almarai in 1977, and has held several key positions in the Farming sector of the business. He was the General Manager of Farming from 1998 following his successful tenure as the Regional Manager of Farming. Andrew holds a qualification from the West of Scotland Agricultural College, UK.

Ayman Algeer is a seasoned human resources executive with a diverse background in technology and people management. As the current Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at Almarai, he brings a wealth of experience and expertise to his role. Ayman holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of New Haven, Connecticut, USA, providing him with a strong foundation in technology.  He joined Almarai in 2021 as the head of HR Center of Excellence, overseeing strategic human resources initiatives before taking on the role of Almarai Chief Human Resources Officer in 2024. Prior to joining Almarai, Ayman worked for multiple organizations such as Saudi Aramco and Aramco Asia in different senior HR roles, managing complex operations across various global locations.

Chris Langhorne is the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer for Almarai, where he is responsible for the development and implementation of the corporate strategy, managing M&A from planning to execution, and aiding in expansion strategies, including geography, adjacencies, and other general growth areas. Chris brings a diverse background of over 25 years working in leading global companies, including Nestle, where he recently served as the Global Sr. Director of Strategic Planning, leading global strategy, as well as M&A for the pet care category. Before his time at Nestle, he worked in similar strategy, planning and corporate development roles at Altria, Dell Computers, and Johnson & Johnson with increasing responsibility. Out of undergraduate college, Chris supported various clients in an audit and consulting capacity at KPMG and Andersen Consulting. He holds an MBA from Darden Graduate School of Business Administration and a bachelor’s in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, both in Virginia, USA.

Danko Maras was appointed as Almarai’s CFO in April 2020. He is an experienced financial professional having held senior international positions in the fast-moving consumer goods industry such as Unilever, Leaf, and Cloetta, where in addition to being Group CFO, he also has held positions such as CEO and president. Danko successfully completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to support the increasingly strategic roles he took on in his leadership capacity, and read for his bachelor’s in business administration and economics from Uppsala University, Sweden.

Faisal Alfahadi is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and communication for Almarai, where he leads all corporate and government affairs throughout the organization, as well as its investment portfolio. During his tenure at Almarai he has held several senior positions, including General Manager of Human Resources and Support Services, and General Manager of the Juice business. Faisal holds a master’s degree in marketing from the University of Salford, UK.

Michael McDonald was appointed Executive Vice President of Protein in January 2025, prior to which he held the role of Executive Vice President of Poultry. Michael joined Almarai in 2000, and during his time at Almarai, has held several positions within the Almarai Farming and Poultry divisions. He holds a higher national diploma from Greenmount Agricultural College, and a postgraduate certificate in food safety and security from Queens University Belfast, both in Northern Ireland, and received his master of business administration from Liverpool University, UK.

Niall Mackay is the Executive Vice President of Supply Chain for Almarai, a role in which he is responsible for planning, distribution and logistics throughout the Almarai supply chain including all sourcing and purchasing activities. Prior to joining Almarai he held senior operational positions at Pedigree Pet Foods (a part of Mars Inc.), Coca-Cola Enterprises, British Bakeries (part of Rank and Hovis McDougal), and Royal Mail, UK. Niall holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Imperial College, UK, and a master’s in business administration from Henley Management College, UK.

Nikolaos Stavridis is the Executive Vice President of Sales for Almarai, and is responsible for the overall Almarai sales function. Nikolaos has extensive sales experience in FMCG. Prior to joining Almarai, he held various executive positions, such as Key Account Manager at Pepsico (Greece), Sales Director at Danone (Greece and Cyrus), Commercial Director at Global Finance Group (Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain and Cyprus), COO and Board member at Group Linette (North and East Africa), General Manager at Almarai, and vice president and board member at Olayan Group (GCC and Africa). Nikolaos holds a master’s degree in corporate finance from the University of Indianapolis, USA and a master’s degree in business administration and strategy from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Nishit Mathur is the Executive Vice President of the Bakery Business Unit at Almarai Company, bringing over two decades of experience in marketing, sales, and leadership. Since joining Almarai in 2003, he has held several key marketing and commercial roles, driving strategic growth and innovation. Most recently Nishit served as Head of Gulf Market leading regional sales and market expansion effort. Nishit holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Mumbai and a master’s in international business from Symbiosis Institute, India.  

Omar Salim is the Executive Vice President for Dairy, Juice and Food, a role in which he is responsible for all Dairy and Juice business units in the Company. Prior to joining Almarai, he worked for Mars Inc. as director of marketing for the Africa, India, and Middle East regions, and also worked for Procter & Gamble across many regions in its Research and Development team. When he first joined Almarai he was appointed to the position of General Marketing Manager. Omar holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Oklahoma, USA.

Philippe Riffi was appointed the Executive Vice President for the newly acquired Water business at Almarai in August 2025. Philippe draws from his extensive experience in FMCG, especially in the bottled water industry, where he served in both local, regional, and global roles in operations, marketing, and general management over the past four decades. Before joining Almarai, Philippe worked at Nestle Waters in global brands’ marketing, in North America’s local brands’ marketing, in Egypt as its divisional general manager, in regional management in Middle East and Africa, and head of the global business unit for ready-to-drink tea, before taking on responsibilities as Vice President – Food & Beverages, while also assuming duties as a Board member at Olayan Saudi Holding Company’s Food & Beverages operating companies. Philippe graduated from EM Lyon Business School, France, where he specialized in International Commerce, Finance and Marketing. He also received specialized executive education from INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France in finance and international marketing

Shadi Elqutati is the Executive Vice President of the International Business Unit at Almarai. Shadi joined the Company as CEO for Teeba in Jordan in 2018 and prior to this, he worked for Nestle KSA as General Manager for Infants Nutrition. He has 21 years of experience in well-known pharmaceutical companies such as Merck, AstraZeneca and Janssen Inc, across different fields including sales and marketing in which he held several key positions. Shadi holds an MBA in Marketing from New York Institute of Technology University, USA and a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutics from Applied Science University, Jordan.