Muscat, Masqaţ, Oman
David is an ACA with experience in the power, water, infrastructure and logistics sectors. David holds a degree in Accountancy & Economics from Durham University and qualified as a chartered accountant in 1993. In 1995 he joined the ICI Teesside Utilities business and played a lead role in its sale to Enron Europe in 1999 and became FD of Enron Teesside Operations Ltd (ETOL) in 2001. After the collapse of the Enron Group in 2001, he was part of the team which managed the ETOL business and sold the company to SembCorp Group. The sale ensured all senior and trade creditors were paid in full and no employees lost their jobs despite the Enron collapse. David remained part of the team at Sembcorp UK Ltd until 2010. During this time he led a refinancing to build the UK's first large scale biomass power plant and represented the company in the closure of its pension scheme. Over this period David held a number of roles in support and commercial areas and was Chairman of the Trustees of the Company’s pension fund for a time. In 2010 David took over as GCFO of Cascal following its acquisition by the Sembcorp Group. Cascal owned assets in 8 countries in S America, UK, Africa & the Far East. He led the integration of Cascal into the Sembcorp Group. Cascal was removed from the NYSE, had its corporate debt refinanced and closed its pension scheme. David also held roles on the Boards in various businesses in the Cascal Group. In 2013 David transferred to Sembcorp Salalah Power & Water in Oman and led its transformation to a public company registered on the MSM. The IPO was priced on a dividend yield that was 25% lower than previously achieved in the sector in Oman and had in excess of 12,000 shareholders at IPO. In 2015 David joined Oman Rail as CFO. David received Board approval for a financial roadmap for the project and developed the finance function throughout the year. Following the deferral of the GCC rail link David transferred to lead the incorporation and development of ASYAD, which took over all of the Oman government's logistics assets. in mid 2016 where be was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer. ASYAD comprised 15 companies including ports, a shipping business, a number of public service businesses and a drydock. During his time at ASYAD he led the development of ASYAD's strategy from a business and finance perspective and restructured some elements of the group to fit that strategy. David left ASYAD in 2021 and undertook some freelance work in the UK after which he joined Awasr, an Oman based internet services company in Oman as CFO in May 2022.
Currently working with ITAE Group on their return to operations after COVID-19. Also serving as a non-executive director at the Port of Salalah in Oman
Asyad has been set up as part of the Sultanate of Oman’s plans to consolidate its various government owned companies into specific sectors. Asyad owns 15 companies (“the Group”) across the logistics sector including ports, free zones, shipping companies, dry dock, post, road based transport and post. Asyad’s total asset base is approximately RO 1.35bn (USD 3.5bn) with assets under management of RO 1.53bn (USD 4bn) .Total employees across the Group amount to 6,800 while revenue is 0.3bn (USD 0.8bn) and operating cash flow is RO 120m (USD 0.3bn) per annum. As well as delivering improved operating and financial performance across the Group, Asyad is tasked with delivering the Sultanate of Oman Logistics Strategy (“SOLS”). SOLS aim is to make Oman a major global logistics hub, leveraging its geographical advantages and its significant recent investment in its transport infrastructure. In so doing SOLS expects logistics to become a major contributor to the Oman economy, creating opportunities for significant growth and employment. SOLS has a number of long-term economic and employment targets with which Asyad will align its corporate objectives. With regards to the ports in particular, Asyad has a number of JV partners where the balance of power with regard to voting rights is not always in Asyad’s favour.
CFO of a listed company in Oman, having completed the IPO in October 2013