Company Leadership

Wa’el Tashkandi is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Novel Non-Metallic Solutions Manufacturing Company. Novel is a new joint venture between global market leaders, which is developing and commercializing a broad range of composite (non-metallic) products.

At Novel, Wa’el is responsible for setting up a strategic vision for the company, and leading the development and execution of short, medium, and long-term business goals and plans.

Prior to this, he was the Sales and Commercial Director for Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) and India for an Oilfield Equipment (OFE) product company within Baker Hughes. He was responsible for sales, marketing, and mid to long-term plans by country for the OFE.

He also served as GeoMarket Director - Surface, covering Pressure Control, Artificial Lift, Zenith and Soundex for Saudi Arabia within the legacy GE Oil and Gas organization. He was responsible for the field service, fleet and equipment management, service workshop infrastructure and a flagship manufacturing facility in Dammam. He also had extended roles as the Chairman of the JV in Saudi and was a board member in the JV with SONATRAC for pressure control.

Wa’el began his career in the Oil and Gas industry with Schlumberger in Saudi Arabia as a field engineer, progressing through various roles in multiple business management positions. In 2008, he moved to Houston HQ as an Operation Support Manager for well services and, on his return to Saudi, held the role of MEA Quality Compliance Manager, before being promoted to Geomarket Manager - Saudi and Bahrain for Mi-SWACO, a Schlumberger Company.

He holds a B.Sc. in Applied Chemical Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).

Ahmed Hafiz is Chief Operation Officer (COO) of Novel Non-Metallic Solutions Manufacturing . His professional background includes over 20 years diversified experience in the oil and gas industry.

In 2003, Ahmed joined the oil and gas sector as a field service engineer, gaining hands-on experience in Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. Through the recognition of his accomplishments and dedication to his craft, Ahmed appointed as the Sub-Segment Operational Manager for the Saudi Arabia & Bahrain region within the Schlumberger Services Company. In 2013. Ahmed joined GE Oil & Gas in Saudi Arabia as an OFE Field Service Manager for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, he did not limit himself to the oil and gas industry, as between 2016 and 2019 he extended his field of expertise to include working as a Merger & Acquisition Specialist in the United States, Supply Chain/Manufacturing Manager in China, and Commercial Sales Specialist in Malaysia. Before being appointed to his current position, Ahmed has held the post of Product Manager in Non-Metallic Solutions in Saudi Arabia representing Baker Hughes’s shareholders and working closely on Novel business strategy development and planning.

Ahmed holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering (1998) from the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and a Master in Business Administration (2016) from Herriot Watt University in Edinburgh.

Khaled  Almuhammadi is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Novel Non-Metallic Solutions Manufacturing Company. He is leading the technology edge of the JV between Saudi Aramco and Baker Hughes towards delivering the vision and mission of the company.

Khaled has a mechanical engineering background along with master’s and PhD degrees specialized in composite materials with about two decades of professional working experience. His expertise covers diverse aspects in both upstream and downstream domains in Saudi Aramco, besides hands-on experience in conducting and managing scientific research projects for composites, as well as has published several scientific journal papers and patents.

Khaled has been the Composites Champion in the Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center - Advanced Research Center at Saudi Aramco. He is a co-founder of Saudi Aramco Non-Metallics Project Management Office (NM PMO) which oversees the Non-Metallics Strategy in Saudi Aramco. He is also a co-founder of the “Saudi Arabian Society for Composite Materials (SASCOM)” the first in the region specialized in composite materials. In addition, he is a Scientific Board Member as well as an Executive Member at SASCOM.

Khaled earned his bachelor’s degree from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), where his master’s and PhD degrees were both from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Saud Al Atal is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Novel Non-Metallic Solutions Manufacturing. Saud is responsible for all of the company’s financial functions, including accounting, audit, treasury, corporate finance and investor relations. He also oversees and manages all human resources and facilities activities.

Throughout his 16-year career in Saudi Aramco Finance business line, he has held leadership roles in operations, accounting and planning. During his career in Saudi Aramco, Saud supported organizational consulting, planning, affiliates supports, and operational excellence activities. Previously, he served as division head in SAO Operations Accounting Department.

Saud holds a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Information Systems from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.