Exceptional

A
mother’s influence is a powerful persuader,
and for one eager Saudi youth, her refusal to
allow him to follow his brothers to university
in the US was the catalyst for a journey that
has put the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the map when
it comes to innovation in the power and water sector.
Mohammad Abdullah Abunayyan, Executive Chairman
of ACWA Power, has spent more than three decades
on a mission to provide affordable electricity and
desalinated water to communities on three continents,
supporting both social development and economic
growth along the way.
The entrepreneurial spirit is clearly a family trait.
Mohammad’s father, Abdullah R. Abunayyan, introduced
the first diesel-powered turbine pump to Saudi Arabia in the
early 1950s, jumpstarting the desert nation’s agricultural
capability. Today, ACWA Power invests in, develops,
co-owns and operates a portfolio of plants that generate
21.5GW of power and produce 2.5 million cubic meters of
desalinated water per day, making it the leading private
power and water project developer in the Middle East.
The younger Abunayyan’s 1979 corporate debut was
not inevitable, though; rather, it was a case of necessity.
“I eventually tried university, but I only lasted 10 minutes
in the classroom,” he says with a chuckle. “So my father,
in his wisdom, suggested I spend a summer working for
the family business. That was 35 years ago.”
Starting at the bottom
For 17-year-old Mohammad, corporate life started at
the very bottom of the ladder — in the workshop. This
was followed by a succession of jobs, from warehouse
operative and showroom cleaner to a stint as a salesman.
It wasn’t until almost 10 years later that he secured his
first managerial role.
The ACWA Power
water desalination
plant at Barka, Oman
Exceptional February–June 2016
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