Qatar rail

21 November 2011

Six figures executing Qatar’s $35bn rail masterplan: Saad Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mohannadi, Abdulla Abdulaziz al-Subaei, Arash Aghdam, Martin Bay, Steve Lankester and Gordon Lindsay,

Saad Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mohannadi

Position: Chief executive officer, Qatar Railways Company

Biography: Saad Ahmed Ibrahim al-Mohannadi is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Qatar Railways Company. Al-Mohannadi has held the position since July 2011, when he was appointed to lead the development of Qatar’s $35bn integrated rail programme. The programme incorporates the Doha metro, Lusail light railway and high-speed passenger and freight lines. Previously, al-Mohannadi was director of technical affairs at Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) from September 2008. He began his career as a network controller at the Electricity and Water Ministry in 1997, which later became Kahramaa. Al-Mohannadi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Qatar in 1997. He also has a master’s in business administration from the University of Qatar, completed in 2009.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 497 7884

Abdulla Abdulaziz al-Subaei

Position: Managing director, Qatar Railways Company

Biography: Abdulla Abdulaziz al-Subaei is the managing director of Qatar Railways Company and has been in the post since the company was formed in March 2011. Before his current position, Al-Subaei worked at the Electricity and Water Ministry as well as the General Electricity & Water Authority (Kahramaa). During his time with Kahramaa, Al-Subaei managed and planned electricity generation and transmission projects worth millions of riyals, as well as infrastructure projects, including the Towers Area, among others. Al-Subaei was also CEO of Smeet, an affiliate of Qatari Diar Investment Company. Al-Subaei graduated with an electrical engineering degree from the University of Qatar in 1996, and completed a master’s degree in business administration from the same institution in 2006.  

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 497 7884

Arash Aghdam

Position: Director, rail & transit, Aecom

Biography: Arash Aghdam has been director of rail and transit at Aecom Middle East since January 2010. He has 24 years’ experience in the construction industry overseeing, developing and managing major rail and transport infrastructure projects in the UK and globally, working for large international companies. In his current role, Aghdam is responsible for the development and implementation of rail and transit projects throughout the Middle East. He is currently overseeing the development of the Lusail light railway transit project in Qatar. Before joining Aecom, Aghdam was director of rail and metro for US-based Louis Berger Group in London between 2003-09 with primary responsibility for developing projects in Europe and the Middle East. Aghdam has a master’s degree in engineering from Imperial College London, which he received in 1984. He then achieved a doctorate in engineering from the University of Nottingham in 1986.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 410 9400

Martin Bay

Position: Vice-chairman, Qatar Railways Development Company

Biography: Martin Bay is chairman of the board of Germany’s Deutsche Bahn International and vice-chairman of Qatar Railways Development Company (QRDC). QRDC works under the administration of the state-run Qatar Railways Company. QRDC is a joint venture of Qatari Diar Investment Company and Deutsche Bahn, which was set up in 2009. QRDC is working on the development of a $35bn railway network for Qatar. Some of the network must be completed within the next 10 years, as Qatar will host the Fifa World Cup in 2022. Bay joined Deutsche Bahn in 2002 as chief executive officer, in 2007 becoming chairman of the board. Previously, Bay served as chairman of the board of managing directors for Germany’s Lahmeyer International, chairman and partner at Fichter Consulting Engineers and at the corporate planning department at Saabergwerke.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 435 1612

Steve Lankester

Position: Director of rail, transit and aviation Middle East and North Africa, Parsons Brinckerhoff

Biography: Steve Lankester has been a regional director of rail, transit and aviation for international infrastructure consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff since September 2010. Lankester has more than 23 years’ experience in the construction industry, the past 15 of which have been on rail infrastructure projects in the Middle East and Asia. Prior to joining Parsons Brinckerhoff, Lankester was manager then assistant director of the Taiwanese high-speed railway project between 2000-07. In 2007, he joined Parsons Brinckerhoff as director of rail, transit and aviation covering the UAE, before being appointed to his current position. Lankester’s experience on major rail projects in the Middle East includes, the Dubai Metro Purple Line project, the Dubai Integrated Rail Master Plan and the Abu Dhabi regional rail study for the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport.

Contact Tel: (+971) 4 360 0090

Gordon Lindsay

Position: Director and head of rail – Qatar, Atkins

Biography: Gordon Lindsay has been director and head of rail for Atkins in Qatar since May 2011. Lindsay is a chartered engineer and has worked in the industry for nearly 20 years. His experience includes directing and managing multidisciplinary railway engineering projects, which covers masterplanning, feasibility, design, construction, commissioning and maintenance. Before his current role, Lindsay was project director for the US’ Scott Wilson from 2000 to May 2011. Over the past 10 years, Lindsay has been responsible for the development and delivery of infrastructure projects worth more than $5bn within a programme of more than $100bn. Lindsay led the Atkins team that was responsible for carrying out the feasibility study of the planned West Bay people-mover in Doha. Lindsay graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the UK’s University of Strathclyde in 1991.

Contact Tel: (+974) 4 406 1600

A MEED Subscription...

Subscribe or upgrade your current MEED.com package to support your strategic planning with the MENA region’s best source of business information. Proceed to our online shop below to find out more about the features in each package.