OREANDA-NEWS. April 10, 2014. Saudi Aramco and the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) recently signed an agreement to establish a Finance chair at the university.

The event was attended by HE Dr. Khalid S. Al-Sultan, KFUPM rector, and then-senior vice president of Finance at Saudi Aramco, Muhammad Al-Ali, as well as a number of officials from the university and the company.

The chair will be headed by professor Bell Magnosni, a distinguished professor in financial management, specializing in governance, financing, investment and risk management.

Magnosni, who is also the Chair in Finance of the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma, holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University, MBA from Louisiana State University and B.S. in Chemistry from Mississippi College. He has been a visiting professor at the Universite Paris-Dauphine in France, Vanderbilt University in the U.S., Humboldt University in Germany, Duke University in the U.S., Boccinoni University in Italy, the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands, the University of Zurich and the University of Georgia.

Strategic relations between the company and the university

“The strategic relationship with Saudi Aramco began with the foundation of the university, and recent years have witnessed significant and comprehensive development in all fields of cooperation between the two parties,” said Al-Sultan. “This deep partnership also provides a unique model of the relationship between the industrial and academic sectors, and ultimately serves the development process to build a knowledge-based economy in the Kingdom.”

Al-Sultan commended Magnosni for attending the signing ceremony and welcomed him to KFUPM.

Al-Sultan noted that the presence of Magnosni among the members of faculty would positively affect students and researchers who would be dealing with him directly. In addition, the chair will support other academic programs at the university and develop its profile in administration and financial research. 

Al-Sultan told attendees that agreements between Saudi Aramco and KFUPM are of higher quality due to both parties sticking to strict criteria when evaluating each other’s performance.

Supporting high education and vocational institutions

Al-Ali said Saudi Aramco is an important supporter to all high and vocational education institutions in the Kingdom. He explained that the graduates of these institutions are the main source of the company’s human resources; therefore, the company is keen to raise the level of qualifications of the graduates, which will be in turn reflected in the performance and safety of operations in its various facilities.

He also added that the chair will constitute a significant contribution to the College of Industrial Management in KFUPM and will develop it to be one of the best business administration colleges in the world. The college is also a crucial source of qualified employees for Saudi Aramco, and the development of its graduates will benefit the company.

As Saudi Aramco transforms from an oil and gas company into a fully integrated energy company, it will require employees who are highly efficient in financial administration.

Magnosni said his joining KFUPM was based on the reputation of the institute and his several visits. He expressed pleasure to be working at a leading university considered to be one of the best in the region. He indicated that the chair will have academic and research roles, the former concerned with performing and publishing research, and the latter with cooperating with Saudi Aramco to build professional staff, establish joint research, prepare various courses and organize international conferences on financial management.

The head of Finance and Economics Department at KFUPM, professor Muhammad Al-Zahrani, explained that the chair is part of an initiative between the faculty of Industrial Management and Saudi Aramco, and that the university is adopting new methods in operating scientific chairs.