Nassir M. Al-Ajmi
Former Executive VP Nassir M. Al-Ajmi hailed as a true Saudi Aramco ‘pioneer’.
Dhahran — HE Nassir M. Al-Ajmi, a distinguished former executive vice president and former member of the Saudi Aramco Board of Directors, passed away on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Throughout his 42-year career with Saudi Aramco, Al-Ajmi served the company with distinction and played a key role in the transformative decisions that helped to make Saudi Aramco one of the world’s leading oil companies and a leading supplier of energy for the globe.
Amin Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO, paid tribute to Al-Ajmi in a weekly meeting with company management on Sunday.
“His Excellency Nassir Al-Ajmi was a key contributor and a shaper of the transformation of Saudi Arabia from the pre-oil era,” Nasser said.
“His life is an inspiration to many — who, from a Bedouin background, became a top business leader, a senior government official, and also a widely respected community leader.”
A True Pioneer
Al-Ajmi was one of a generation of young men, including the future president and CEO of Saudi Aramco and future oil minister HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, who used their experience to shape the key turning points in the company’s, and the Kingdom’s, history.
Al-Ajmi reflected on his rise from humble origins in his memoirs, Legacy of a Lifetime: An Essay on the Transformation of Saudi Arabia, when he wrote: “I came from the desert. By the age of seven I knew everything that my father knew. I thought that was it. But then you see all the new equipment and machines. It’s not a camel, it’s not a donkey, it’s not a horse, it’s not a sheep, and it’s not a goat. Then your mind begins to tell you that you don’t know everything. You want to know more and that’s how it started.”
Al-Ajmi was one of the true pioneers of the company, joining Aramco in 1950 with the Transportation Department in Abqaiq. From modest beginnings, he worked his way up the ranks of the company through his hard work and determination.
After working in Abqaiq for several years, Al-Ajmi was selected for out-of-Kingdom training and went to the United States in 1963 to study automotive technology. He then followed that up with two specialized automotive courses in the United Kingdom, and earned a bachelor’s of science degree in Business Management from Milton College in Wisconsin in 1967.
Al-Ajmi became manager of the Land Transportation Department in Dhahran in 1974. During his career in Aramco, he worked in Corporate Planning and was part of major corporate decisions and major investments such as the Master Gas System in the 1970s.
He was also the company’s first vice president of Industrial Services — overseeing Marine, Aviation, and Information Technology. During that time, and later on as senior vice president of Operations Services — a role he took on in October 1979 — he played a lead role in the Saudization of Aramco before it became Saudi Aramco.
In May 1988, he became the company’s second highest ranking executive after Al-Naimi, who was president and CEO at that time.
Many Roles in Retirement
After retirement from Aramco in 1993, HE Al-Ajmi was appointed to the position of president of the Saudi Railways Organization. He also served as a member of the Shura Council.
In his many roles, serving in numerous Kingdom and international boards and councils over 55 years of service, Al-Ajmi shared his wealth of experience, providing guidance and counsel to future generations.
“What our generation enjoys today is thanks to pioneers and leaders like His Excellency Al-Ajmi, who leaves behind a great legacy and an enduring footprint in the society he served,” said Nasser. “Our deep condolences to his family and may God bless his soul and grant him mercy.”