Six key figures driving the development of Iraq’s power industry: Jeff Larkin, Khalid Hasan Salih, Ala’a Disher Zamil, Abdul Qader Ahmed, Luay al-Khatteeb and Salar Ameen
Jeff Larkin
Position Market sector director, power and water, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Biography In his role as power and water director at Parsons Brinckerhoff, Jeff Larkin is responsible for growing the US consultancy’s energy and utilities business across the Middle East and North Africa region. He was appointed to the position in April 2011 and is based in Abu Dhabi. Previously, he was Parsons Brinckerhoff’s country manager for Iraq and spent seven years overseeing the creation of a power masterplan for the war-torn country, commissioned by the Electricity Ministry. Larkin joined Parsons Brinckerhoff in 1989 as a substation engineer. He moved into business development in 1998 and, in 2002, was promoted to sales and marketing director for the power networks business in the UK. Larkin is a chartered electrical engineer and has a master’s of business administration from the UK’s University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Contact Tel: (+971) 2 652 9222
Khalid Hasan Salih
Position Co-head of the independent power projects (IPP) programme, Electricity Ministry
Biography Khalid Hasan Salih is head of Iraq’s IPP programme at the Electricity Ministry, along with fellow head Ala’a Disher Zamil. Prior to taking up this position, Salih was the supervisor of Iraq’s hydropower and diesel power plants, a role he took on in 2007. He worked on the reconstruction of the Samara hydropower station generation units after an attack in 1991. He was also involved with the repair of the second unit at the Hadeth hydropower project, following engineering errors, and the rehabilitation of the Baije power station. Salih started his career at the Electricity Ministry in 1982 as a maintenance engineer at the Samara hydropower project and progressed to hydropower station manager, before being appointed commercial manager three years later. He then became general director for production. Salih graduated from Baghdad University in 1972.
Contact Tel: (+964) 1 719 0929
Ala’a Disher Zamil
Position Co-head of the IPP programme, Electricity Ministry
Biography Ala’a Disher Zamil is co-head of Iraq’s IPP committee at the Electricity Ministry. The IPP programme was intended to add 2,750MW of private power capacity through four power plants across the country before the scheme was scrapped in May 2011 in favour of a new financing model. Previously, Zamil worked as a mechanical engineer, shift engineer, planning engineer and plant manager at the Baije power station. He was also power station manager for Iraq’s Commission of Electricity, director general at the General Establishment for Electricity Production and director general of the Ministry of Electricity’s production office. Zamil graduated with a bachelor’s degree in production and metallurgy in 1982 and completed a master’s in industrial engineering in 1991 at Iraq’s University of Technology.
Contact Tel: (+964) 1 719 0929
Abdul Qader Ahmed
Position Power projects manager, Mass Global Investment Company
Biography Abdul Qader Ahmed is director of power projects for the Jordan-headquartered Mass Global Investment Company. The firm has two projects in operation in Kurdistan, with a third to be commissioned by the end of 2011, taking its total installed capacity in Iraqi Kurdistan to 2,250MW. Prior to joining Mass Global Investment Company, Ahmed was manager of Galala Trading & Construction and manager of Al-Aktar Trading Company. He was also general manager of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission’s Scientific Research Centre and deputy minister of the Industry and Minerals Ministry. Ahmed has a bachelor of science degree from Baghdad University and a master’s and doctorate from the UK’s Manchester University. He is secretary general of the Beirut-based Arab Businessmen Association and manager of Al-Huda International Trading Company.
Contact Tel: (+962) 6 568 3643
Luay al-Khatteeb
Position Founder and executive director, Iraq Energy Institute
Biography Luay al-Khatteeb is the founder and executive director of the Iraq Energy Institute, an independent think-tank based in London. He advises the Iraqi Oil & Gas Parliamentary Committee and has more than 16 years’ experience in business development. Before establishing the institute, Al-Khatteeb worked for various international companies, including the UAE’s Crescent Petroleum and Dana Gas, UK/Dutch Shell Group, Netherlands-based ING Bank and Switzerland’s Credit Suisse. As a senior advisor at Shell, he played a key role in delivering the company’s exploration and production strategy for Iraq between 2004 and 2008. He graduated in 1993 with a degree in business information technology from the UK’s Kingston University and went on to do research on Iraq’s petroleum industry at Salford University, also in the UK.
Contact Tel: (+44) 20 7245 6967
Salar Ameen
Position Vice chairman, National Investment Commission (NIC)
Biography Salar Ameen is vice chairman of the NIC, which aims to assist with the rebuilding of Iraq by attracting local and foreign investment through the creation of a market economy and the development of the private sector. Previously, Ameen was an advisor to the Culture Ministry. Based in Baghdad, he was responsible for planning and managing countrywide cultural surveys, managing research teams to plan for future cultural developments and coordinating between the Culture Ministry in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Ministry of Culture in Erbil and Suleimaniyah. Ameen was also a member of the public relations board for the Iraqi National Congress (INC) in Baghdad. This role involved managing public relations between the INC and various Iraqi political parties, organisations, groups and entities, as well as helping to develop media campaigns.
Contact Tel: (+964) 7 901 97 0107
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