Al Mady has spent more than a decade and a half as CEO completing the dramatic transformation of SABIC into the world’s biggest chemical maker. He took over in 1998 and continued its expansion to become the largest listed company in the Middle East. SABIC grew from a firm that employed six people in 1976 to one that employs 40,000 staff and boasts a market capitalisation of over $71 billion. Al Mady’s recent moves have seen the company enhance its presence in Asia with new technology centres opened in China and India.