Minister of Energy and Industry launches Texas A&M at Qatar’s 2015-2016 Dean’s Leadership Series
Published Nov 24, 2015Texas A&M University at Qatar hosted H.E. Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry and Chairman of the Board of Qatar Petroleum, for its first Dean’s Leadership Series lecture 18 October in the branch campus’ building in Education City.
During his talk, H.E. Dr. Al-Sada advised students to have a positive outlook on life, as positive outlook provides inspiration. He shared some valuable management mantras with the students for succeeding in personal and professional life, such as “the real opportunity for success lies within each individual.” He advised the students to always make efforts to see the bigger picture of a particular task or challenge, and to understand the value and importance of leadership, teamwork and clarity in communications.
On facing challenging tasks, he encouraged students to think of out-of-the-box solutions. Finally, he advised them to always be practitioners and proponents of ethics. H.E. Dr. Al Sada elucidated his points by sharing several examples, such as the famous parable of the three stone cutters engaged in building a cathedral, and the study of the “V” formation of the flight of the migratory geese.
"His Excellency Dr. Al-Sada's career is an excellent example of how good leadership impacts personal and institutional development,” said Dr. Mark H. Weichold, dean and CEO of Texas A&M at Qatar. “As Texas A&M at Qatar goes about creating the next generation of engineering leaders, having His Excellency share his experience as an inspirational leader is invaluable to our students as they create their own vision for the future. In his role as the Chair of our Joint Advisory Board, he has been instrumental in wisely guiding the branch campus' growth and emergence as the premier provider of engineering education in the region. We deeply appreciate him sharing his perspectives on leadership, which are as essential to academia as they are to industry."
H.E. Dr. Al-Sada has been the Minister of Energy & Industry of Qatar since 2011. He was previously Minister of State for Energy and Industry Affairs, and was also appointed Qatar Petroleum’s managing director and chairman of the Board of Directors in 2011. He is the chairman of Texas A&M at Qatar’s Joint Advisory Board and a member of Qatar Foundation’s Board of Directors.
He has more than 30 years of experience in the energy sector. H.E. Dr. Al-Sada started his career with Qatar Petroleum (QP) in 1983, where he managed various corporate departments and as technical director successfully oversaw major oil, gas and related infrastructure projects. In 2006, he moved to RasGas Company Limited (RasGas) as managing director and became the chairman of the Board of Directors in 2011. In September 2014, upon restructuring of Qatar Petroleum, H.E. Dr. Al-Sada was reassigned the overall responsibility for the Qatar’s energy sector by retaining the position of Minister of Energy and Industry and chairman of the board of Qatar Petroleum. In addition, he is also the chairman of RasGas, Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd. (TASWEEQ), NAKILAT and MUNTAJAT. In 2012, H.E. Dr. Al-Sada was honored with the “Man of the Year Award” by The Oil & Gas Year Qatar, a publisher of globally reputed business intelligence resources.
An active member of the Qatari community, H.E. Dr. Al-Sada has served as a member of several distinguished committees and organizations, including the Permanent Constitution, Preparation Committee, the Supreme Education, Council and the National Committee for Human Rights. He is also currently the chairman of the board for the College of the North Atlantic – Qatar.
His Excellency holds a Ph.D. from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology in UK, having earlier graduated with a Bachelor of Science in marine science and geology from Qatar University. He is married and has two daughters and three sons.