RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman issued on Tuesday a Royal Decree appointing Yousef Bin Abdullah Al-Benyan as the minister of education. Al-Benyan held the position of vice chairman and CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) since 2015, until the issuance of the Royal Order appointing him as the Education Minister. Al-Benyan has achieved several successes during his career, placing in the seventh place among the list of the most powerful CEOs in the Middle East for the year 2021, according to the Forbes Middle East newspaper. As for his beginnings and academic background, Al-Benyan holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University in 1987, in addition to a master's degree in industrial management in 1996. After his academic journey, he held several positions affiliated with SABIC and its various branches, He then became General Manager of Textile Intermediaries at the SABIC headquarters in Riyadh during 2007-2008. Al-Benyan was appointed for two consecutive years in 2005-2007 as General Manager of SABIC Americas, Inc. whose head office is currently located in Houston. Before that he held the position of General Manager of SABIC Asia Pacific for three years from 2002 until 2005. In 2008, Al-Benyan held the position of Executive Vice President of Chemicals, and the position of CEO of Human Resources at SABIC. Then in 2015 he was appointed to the position of Executive Vice President for Financial Affairs. Al-Benyan chaired the boards of a number of companies, including the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Fertilizer Company (SAFCO); Yanbu National Petrochemical Company (Yansab); Saudi Iron & Steel Co. (Hadeed); in addition to the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), and more.
