Mohammad Al Shahrani  is the Acting Secretary General of the Gulf Downstream Association (GDA), Kingdom of Bahrain and also he is a Saudi Aramco Manager with 17 years of experience in Refining HSE, Manufacturing and Portfolio management. Since March 2021, Mohammad has been heading Affiliates Manufacturing Excellence under Downstream Global Manufacturing to oversee fourteen (14) Downstream affiliates. Prior to his current position, Mohammad was the General Manager of Refinery & Terminal Operations in SASREF; Saudi Aramco Subsidiary in Jubail. And, in 2019, he was assigned as the division head of Operations in Juaimah NGL Fractionation facilities. Previously, between 2016 and 2018, Mohammad assumed the role of portfolio manager responsible for SATORP; Saudi Aramco JV with Total SAS and SASREF which was a JV with Shell at the time.

Between 2005 and 2015, Mohammad started his career in Ras Tanura Refinery as chemical engineer. During that period, Mohammad assumed different roles in Manufacturing, Engineering, Projects, Safety, Planning and Turnaround management. In 2012, he joined UOP - Honeywell in US, for 18 months as process design and project engineer as part of Saudi Aramco UOP internship development program.

In addition to his current duties, Mohammad is the Secretary of Saudi Aramco President Affiliates Excellence Award Committee which he introduced as an initiative in 2017. He attended several leadership and executive programs such as Stanford Business School, London Business School, Harvard Negotiation program, Saudi Aramco Management program, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), Hill & Knowlton Strategies and JCCP Safety & Operations management program.

Mohammad has been an active member in the community through different associations in social affairs and voluntarily development. Between 2015 and 2021, he was appointed by the government as Ras Tanura municipality city councilor for two terms. He participated in several events such as “Mecca the Islamic Cultural Capital” Symposium in 2005, the Kingdom initiative to enhance Higher Education System (AFAAQ) in 2006, 3rd OPEC Summit Higher Organization in 2007 as public & media relations representative and Saudi Aramco “Quest for Operational Excellence” Forum in 2010.

In 2018, Mohammad was a key member in the organization committee which managed GDA first Conference & Exhibit. Also, he was as a member in the advisory Board for Abu Dhabi International Downstream Summit organized by World Refinery Association. In addition, Mohammad participated in several international events such as Gulf Petrochemical Association (GPCA) and Asia Refining Summit.

Mohammad is married and father of five kids.

Raj Jhajharia is the Technical Manager of the Gulf Downstream Association (GDA), Kingdom of Bahrain. In this role, he oversees the functioning of 10 Technical Committees formed by the Subject Matter Experts from founding and member companies of GDA. He is steering several initiatives under the umbrella of GDA to create different platforms to share knowledge, experience and best practices among GDA members.

Raj has more than 40 years of experience – 35 of which he spent with ADNOC in various capacities covering the entire spectrum of Oil & Gas operations (from Upstream to Downstream). His last role in ADNOC was Chief Risk Management Analyst, which enabled him for 10 years to oversee the risk assessment of all the industrial and non-industrial facilities of ADNOC Group of Companies, including Refineries & Petrochemical plants. During this period, he organized many technical conferences and seminars for ADNOC Group in the field of Risk management in collaboration with international risk consultants.

He holds a B. Tech. (Gold Medalist) in Petroleum Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (ISM). He also holds Project Management Professional (PMP), NEBOSH – IGC and ITIL Foundation certificates.

Raj is a PMI certified trainer for PMP Exam Preparation courses and has trained more than 100 aspiring Project Managers. He has also been a contributor to the PMBOK, Earned Value Analysis Standard, and Project Manager Competency Development Framework by PMI. He successfully established the first PMO in ADNOC and managed many projects creating significant values for the corporates while mentoring many young professionals. He also led the project of establishing Competency Assurance Management Systems (CAMS) under selected disciplines in ADNOC. He is currently leading the Knowledge Management initiative of the UAE chapter of PMI in a volunteering capacity. He periodically writes in the media on contemporary topics and gives motivational talks.

Mr Ahmed Al Awadhi is, currently, heading the HR, Finance, Admin and IT Departments at Gulf Downstream Association (GDA) and a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for GDA Leadership and People Development Technical Committee.

He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Human Resources Management from Abu Dhabi University, UAE and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management from Ajman University of Science and Technology, UAE.

He is, also, a Certified Professional in Human Resources and Compensation (CPHRC) and a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) qualified.

Mr Al Awadhi has a considerable experience and knowledge in various HR and Operational areas, including employee relations, recruitment, payroll, performance management, training and development, HRIS, internal governance, and legal compliance.

He was, previously, a Regional Manager at Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Group, one of the largest, independent family-owned multinational businesses in the Middle East, where he was responsible for supporting and implementing the Group’s vision and transformation programme.