Corporate Governance
Good corporate governance is integral to all aspects of GMS’ business and the Board is accountable to all stakeholders for accurate and comprehensive financial reporting and achievement of the Company’s strategic goals.
The UK Corporate Governance Code recommends that at least half the Board, excluding the Chairman, should be Non-Executive Directors whom the Board considers to be independent. The GMS Board has one executive director, two independent Non-Executive Directors’ within the meaning of the UK Corporate Governance Code, and one non-executive Director nominated by a major shareholder.
Board of Directors
Mansour Al Alami
Chairman of the Board
Mr Mansour Al Alami joined the Board of GMS in November 2020. His career spans over forty years in the MENA region and includes experience in the oil, gas & energy sector, construction, IT, transportation, finance and investment. He served fifteen years in various roles in ADCO, now ADNOC Onshore (the leading onshore producer within ADNOC Group) in the areas of drilling and production for upstream onshore operations, later becoming Head of Control & Planning. Mr Al Alami has served also in senior management positions in other companies including Reda Pump Libya, Al Bawardi Enterprises and EMDAD. He sits on the boards and committees of several Amman Stock Exchange listed companies. He has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Newcastle University, UK.
Hassan Heikal
Deputy Chairman/Non-Executive Director
Mr Hassan Heikal joined the Board of GMS in November 2020 (having previously served on the board between August and October 2020). He also acts as Chairman of Seafox International Limited, a significant shareholder in GMS, and Chairman of Kazyon, a supermarket chain in Egypt. He is the Co-Founder of EFG Hermes, a leading investment bank based in the Middle East where he served for eighteen years, latterly seven years as Co-Chief Executive Officer. Prior to EFG Hermes, Mr Heikal worked in Goldman Sachs, where he served in the Corporate Finance Division. He has a BSc from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, Egypt.
Haifa Al Mubarak
Independent Non-Executive Director
Ms Al Mubarak joined the Board of GMS in October 2023. Ms Al Mubarak is the CEO and Founder of Know How for Management Consulting, an organisation that specialises in delivering key learning initiatives for blue-chip clients across the region, helping them create a platform for developing the managers and leaders of tomorrow, through data-driven strategies. She brings over 40 years’ experience in the oil & gas sector and other related industries, having started her career at Abu Dhabi Company for Offshore Oil Operations in 1980 before subsequently joining Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company. Ms Al Mubarak holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Denver, U.S.A, and is a certified practitioner for NLP, Myers-Briggs EQ-I 2.0 and EQ 360, as well as being a Psychometric Assessor.
Charbel El Khoury
Non-Executive Director
Mr Charbel El Khoury joined the Board of GMS in August 2021. He is Group CEO of Mazrui International LLC (‘Mazrui International’), a UAE based diversified investment company with significant reach in sectors including energy. Mazrui International is a company affiliated with Mazrui Investments LLC, a significant shareholder in GMS. Mr El Khoury started his career in prominent legal practices in Lebanon and the UAE before assuming the role of Chief Legal Officer at Mazrui International, where he was responsible for multiple jurisdictions and industry sectors. He holds a number of board positions across international organisations in which Mazrui International has invested. He has a Bachelor’s degree in International Law and Legal Studies, and a Master’s degree in Private Law, both from Sagesse University. In 2021, he also successfully completed the Harvard Business School executive education program.
Jyrki Koskelo
Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr Jyrki Koskelo joined the Board of GMS in February 2021. He currently serves as a Board member of, Africa Agriculture and Trade Investment Fund (Luxembourg) and, EXPO Bank (the Czech Republic, part of the Expobank Group) as well as a member of the Supervisory Board of FIBank ( Bulgaria) and Chairman of Invest Solar (an investment vehicle focused on Botswana). He held various senior positions (between 1987 to 2011) within the Washington based International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries). He has a M.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Technical University, Helsinki, Finland and a MBA in International Finance from MIT, Sloan School of Management, Boston, USA.
Lord Anthony St John of Bletso
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
Lord St John joined the Board in May 2021. He is a cross bench peer in the House of Lords. As a practising lawyer by training, with his LLM in Maritime Law, he worked for Shell (South Africa) and then as an oil analyst and in specialist sales for several institutions in the City of London. Through his subsequent career Lord St John has held a number of executive and advisory roles in high growth companies. He is currently Non-executive Chairman of Integrated Diagnostics Holdings, and a Non-Executive Director of Yellow Cake PLC and Smithson Investment Trust PLC. He is also a Trustee of a number of charities, with a strong focus on education and wildlife conservation, and was formerly a director of Albion Enterprise VCT PLC. Lord St John has a BA and a BScoSc in Psychology from Cape Town University, a BProc in Law from the University of South Africa and an LLM from the London School of Economics.
Executive Leadership
Mansour Al Alami
Executive Chairman
Alex Aclimandos
CFO
Alex joined GMS in 2022. He has 28 years of international financial management experience gained with first-tier companies such as Procter & Gamble, ABB, and Alvarez and Marsal. Most recently, Alex was the Chief Financial Officer at Qatari Investors Group (QIGD), a publicly listed company. He holds an MBA and is a US Certified Management Accountant.
Board of Director Committees
In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, the Board has established three committees: an Audit and Risk Committee, a Nomination Committee and a Remuneration Committee. Should the need arise, the Board may set up additional committees as appropriate.
This committee assists the Board in its responsibilities with regard to financial reporting, external and internal audits and controls. The ultimate responsibility for reviewing and approving the annual report and accounts and the half-yearly reports remains with the Board. The Audit and Risk Committee, which meets no fewer than two times a year, comprises Jyrki Koskelo (Chair), Lord Anthony St John and Haifa Al Mubarak.
This committee assists the Board in its responsibilities relating to the composition and make-up of the Board and any committees of the Board. It is also responsible for periodically reviewing the Board’s structure and identifying potential candidates to be appointed as Directors or committee members as the need may arise. The Nomination Committee will meet no less than once a year and comprises Mansour Al Alami (Chair), Charbel El Khouri, Jyrki Koskelo, Lord Anthony St John and Haifa Al Mubarak.
This committee assists the Board in its responsibilities in relation to remuneration, including making recommendations to the Board on the Company’s policy on executive remuneration. The Remuneration Committee will meet no less than twice a year and comprises Lord Anthony St John (Chair), Jyrki Koskelo and Haifa Al Mubarak.
Code of Conduct
The GMS Code of Conduct sets out the basic rules of our Company and its purpose is to ensure we work safely, efficiently and within the laws of the countries in which we operate. Our reputation as a company and our success is dependent on each of us taking responsibility for putting the Code of Conduct into practice and maintaining a high ethical standard in our work and in our dealings with our clients, host and foreign governments, joint venture partners and associates, contractors, employees, consultants, agents, and generally with everyone with whom we have business dealings throughout the world.
Our Code includes our standards and practices related to anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering and competition laws, provides details on how to raise concerns and has information on our whistleblowing policy.
Other Documents
May 06, 2021
October 27, 2020
August 04, 2020
December 30, 2020
November 23, 2020
November 23, 2020
August 21, 2019
May 16, 2019
March 18, 2019
February 22, 2019
February 11, 2019