Executive Management

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

Danko Maras was appointed as Almarai’s CFO effective 6 April 2020. He is an experienced financial professional having had 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. He holds a GMP from Harvard Business School (HBS) and a B.Sc. in Business Administration and Economics from Uppsala University.

Fahad Aldrees joined Almarai in 2006 and was appointed as Chief Human Resources Officer in March 2021. During his 15 years at Almarai, Fahad has worked in several capacities from manufacturing to distribution and sales. Most recently, he held the position of Head of Human Resources Services. Fahad holds a BA in English Language and completed specialized courses in Human Resources from the University of Michigan, USA.

Faisal Alfahadi is the Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Almarai where he leads on all corporate and government affairs throughout the organization and 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 Juice Business. Faisal holds a Master’s degree in Marketing from the University of Salford, UK.

Fawaz Aljasser is currently the Executive Vice President of the Bakery Division at Almarai Company. Before that, Fawaz held a number of positions at Almarai Company, including Chief Human Resources Officer, where he managed the Company’s Human Resources and Support Services unit. He was also Director of the Technical Institute for Dairy and Food and General Manager of “Teeba” company, a joint venture for Almarai in Jordan. Fawaz holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from Imam Muhammad bin Saud University in Saudi Arabia and a Higher Diploma from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.

Hussam Abdulqader is Almarai’s Chief Marketing Officer. His responsibilities span over branding, product and packaging innovation and development, corporate communications and public relations and marketing services. Since joining Almarai in 2003, he held several positions across the Company, including General Manager of Marketing, CEO of MFI - a joint venture between Almarai and Chipita, CEO of Teeba - the Jordan operation of the joint venture between Almarai and PepsiCo. Prior to joining Almarai, Hussam worked for Nielsen as Head of Retail Measurement Services for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). He holds a BA in Business Administration from Amman Private University, Jordan.

Michael McDonald was appointed Executive Vice President of Poultry in January 2020, prior to which he held the role of Head of Business Unit Poultry. Michael joined Almarai in 2000, during his time he has held several positions within the Almarai Farming and Poultry divisions. He holds a Higher National Diploma from Greenmount Agricultural College, a Postgraduate Certificate in Food Safety and Security from Queens University Belfast, as well as an MBA from Liverpool University, UK.

Mohammed Al Shuhail is the Executive Vice President of Food Service and manages Almarai’s portfolio within B2B operations (HORECA). Mohammed joined the Company as Chief Executive Officer of the International Pediatric Nutrition Company (IPNC). Prior to this, he worked for Al Safi Danone and the Danone Group in the Middle East and Spain, holding several key positions. These included CEO of Al Safi Dairy Company, where he built a sustainable B2B business model, and EVP of Human Resources of Alsafi Danone Company, Head of Export where he developed the company’s portfolio and opened new international markets and managed different brands in the marketing department. In addition, he was the Innovation Manager for Danone Dairy Company in Spain. Mohammed was awarded an Executive MBA from London Business School (LBS), UK, and holds a B.Sc. in Marketing from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).

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 an MBA from Henley Management College, UK.

Nikolaos Stavridis is the Executive Vice President of Sales for Almarai. He 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 Arla Foods (Greece, Romania, Malta, and Cyprus), CCO - Board Member at Global Finance Group (Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, and Cyprus), COO at Group Linette (North and East Africa), General Manager at Almarai, and Vice President (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

Omar Salim is the Executive Vice President for Dairy and Juice, 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 he also worked at 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.

Paul Partelides is the Chief Strategy and Planning Officer for Almarai, leading the Company’s Strategic Business unit with responsibility for strategy and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for existing and new businesses and markets. Prior to joining Almarai, Paul was Director of Global Strategy and Development at INVISTA where he was responsible for growing the international scope of the business both organically and via M&A. Paul holds an MBA from INSEAD and a B.Sc. in Economics. He started his career at KPMG, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

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

Richard Salisbury is the Executive Vice President for Quality, Regulatory, Health, Safety, Security and Sustainability. In this role it is his duty to protect and develop the Almarai brand and business by leading and safeguarding Almarai’s principles for Sustainable Excellence by implementing business strategies in line with the Company’s overall strategy. Prior to joining Almarai, Richard worked at Britvic Soft Drinks, where he held various positions in product development, packaging development and project management. He holds a Food Science and Technology qualification from Seale-Hayne Agricultural College, UK.