Preceded by Khalid D. Al-Faddagh Name Kamal Al-Yahya Profession Geophysicist | Spouse(s) Maha Al Zayer Al Yahya Succeeded by Eric Recto | |
Children Basma Al Yahya
Nasir Al Yahya
Zaina Al Yahya Alma mater King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
UC Berkeley
Stanford University Education Stanford University, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, University of California, Berkeley | ||
Kamal M. Al-Yahya, Ph.D is a geophysicist and an oil company executive. He is currently a senior VP in CGG. Prior to assuming his job at CGG, Mr. Al Yahya was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of South Rub Al-Khali (SRAK) Company, a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell, operating in the Al-Shaiba region, on the eastern edge of the vast Rub Al-Khali desert.
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Education
Kamal Al-Yahya graduated at the top of his class form Qatif Secondary School in 1974, earning a government scholarship to study medicine in the United Kingdom. Two years later, he quit his studies and returned to Saudi Arabia to take care of his mother and younger siblings when his father, Mansoor Al-Yahya, died of cancer at a relatively young age. In order to stay close to home, he opted out of his medical scholarship in favor of pursuing a degree in physics at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. He received his bachelor of science degree in 1979. Upon graduation, he joined Saudi Aramco. In 1981, He was granted a scholarship to study geoscience engineering at UC Berkeley, where he received his masters degree in 1983. This was immediately followed by a scholarship to pursue a doctorate degree in geophysics at Stanford University, which he completed in 1987. The title of his dissertation was "Velocity Analysis by Iterative Profile Migration."
Work
Dr. Al-Yahya has been working with Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world, since 1979. From September 2007 to August 2008, he was the CEO and President of Petron Corporation, the largest oil refiner in the Philippines and a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and the Philippine government. He also concurrently served as a Director on Petron's Board of Directors, succeeding Khalid D. Al-Faddagh in that capacity.