Saudi Aramco appoints first female board member

Saudi Aramco, the state-run oil giant, has appointed Lynn Laverty Elsenhans to its board of directors. Elsenhans is the first woman to join the group and is the former chairwoman, president and chief executive of the American oil company Sunoco.

As part of the ‘Vision 2030’ plan, Saudi Arabia is aiming to increase women’s participation in the workforce from 22% to 30%. The country’s policy of ‘male guardianship’ requires women to get permission from a male figure like a father, husband or son before doing things like travelling or accepting employment.

Four other directors have been appointed as well as Elsenhans: Mohammed A. Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance; Mohammed M. Al-Tuwaijri, Minister of Economy and Planning; Peter L. Cella, former Chevron Philips Chemical president and CEO; and Andrew N. Liveris, director of DowDuPont and chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company (he will retire from DowDuPont and Dow Chemical July 1, 2018, his appointment being effective that day).

These five join the six returning members of the board.

On average, Saudi Aramco produces 10.2 million barrels of crude oil per day. As part of efforts to diversify the country’s economy, the Saudi government is selling a 5% stake in the company, which is expected to be listed on the domestic Tadawul exchange. It’s been reported that an international listing will be delayed until 2019.