Sami Baroum, WG’85 Managing Director, Savola Group
Jeddah
Speaker > Biography
Dr. Sami Baroum has been leading the Savola Group since 2007, when he was appointed the Group’s Managing Director. The Savola Group is a Saudi-based publicly listed company with sales turnover of US$ 3.7 Billion in year 2008. The Group is one of the large diversified conglomerates in the MENA region managing a wide portfolio of businesses including edible oils, sugar, plastic packaging, retail and real estate. The Group is currently having operations in 11 countries spread across the MENACA (Middle East North Africa and Central Asia) region with a workforce of more than 14,000 employees.
Dr. Baroum received an MBA (with distinction) from Wharton School of Business and his Ph. D. in operations management from Kelly School of Business at Indiana University. He joined The Savola Group in 1994 and has since held multiple senior positions in support and line roles within the Group. Prior to joining Savola Group, he was a faculty member of the College of Engineering at King AbdulAziz University in Jeddah.
During the period of 2005 to 2007, Dr. Sami was an active entrepreneur. He founded the Quad International Real Estate Development Company, the development management company and concept promoter of the Knowledge Economic City (KEC), with an aggregate project investment of seven billion USD.
Dr. Sami Baroum currently serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of Afia International, United Sugar Company, Al-Azizia Panda United, Al-Marai Company, Kinan International (Savola Real Estate Co.), Knowledge Economic City and Arabian Cement Company.
The Savola Group is a regional pioneer in the areas of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Governance and enjoys a strong corporate culture which is widely acclaimed in the region. The Group has won several awards in CSR, Corporate Governance and Transparency and is amongst the first companies to adopt and voluntarily commit to international Corporate Governance standards.
