Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, was named the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services (ICIS) 2025 CEO of the Year on Tuesday for outstanding achievement.
ICIS said Dr Al Jaber, who is also Adnoc's managing director and group chief executive, and serves on XRG's board, has been a driving force behind the global energy landscape's transformation. The company also said he has led solutions to meet the increasing energy demands of artificial intelligence.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the ICIS CEO of the Year Award and sincerely thank my peers for their recognition of the efforts of the UAE and all my colleagues at Adnoc and XRG to help meet the world’s growing demand for energy and chemicals,” Dr Al Jaber said in a statement. “ICIS continues to provide trusted insight and analysis on which our industry relies to make informed business decisions.”
The winner of the annual CEO of the Year Award is selected by their peers based on a vote among chief executives who make up the ICIS Top 40 Power Players in the chemical industry.
Adnoc has made several high-profile moves in the industry this year, including an $18.7 billion bid for Australia's Santos – through its energy investment arm XRG – that was made in partnership with the Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ and private equity titan Carlyle. The offer comes as the Abu Dhabi company seeks to boost its production of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
XRG previously said it aims to have a gas and LNG business with capacity between 20 million and 25 million tonnes per annum by 2035.
Dr Al Jaber also announced in May that the UAE aims to boost the value of its investments in the US energy sector to $440 billion by 2035, up from its current level of $70 billion. The announcement, which came during President Donald Trump's visit to the Emirates, is part of a broader UAE $1.4 trillion technology investment framework that the White House had announced in March.
“We are delighted to announce this award to the UAE’s Dr Sultan Al Jaber based on recognition from peers of transformational moves in the global chemical industry in building significant downstream capabilities from the company’s core strength in crude oil and gas. These include the launch of XRG, Adnoc’s international investment arm, which has an ambition to create a top three global chemicals platform,” said Dean Curtis, chief executive of ICIS.
ICIS said its article featuring an interview with Dr Al Jaber will be published in a future issue of ICIS Chemical Business.
