Aladel had previously been a corporate strategist at Aramco before leaving in August 2013 and overseeing the start of a petrochemical complex in Port Arthur for Motiva. He rejoined Aramco in April 2018 to be on the board of its Luberef base oil company.
Mufti said: “These past four years at SAEV have been absolutely amazing. I am proud of our contributions in advancing technologies through the startup and investment community with the backing from Aramco.
“Mahdi is an old colleague and friend and I wish him and the team all the best in continuing the progress achieved thus far. Aramco Ventures is positioned well through its new fund to leap into the next era supporting emerging technologies.”
SAEV has backed at least 45 companies and was targeting a $500m new fund under Mufti, a former GCV Powerlist award winner who last year joined the board of Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), a government venture capital firm established in 2018 as part of the Private Sector Stimulus Plan (PSSP).
There is plenty of change in the energy industry with BP undergoing its succession from David Gilmour and other changes to be announced there and at oil services firms during the autumn as they increasingly focus on net zero carbon production. A report on hydrogen as part of the energy mix is being prepared and the sector will be discussed at the next GCV Digital Forum on 29 September.
