Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan was appointed as Saudi Minister of Education on Tuesday by a Royal Decree by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
A holder of advanced degrees in economics and industrial and economic management, Al-Benyan embarks on a journey to develop the education sector in the Kingdom, and to devote his vast experience to achieve the best learning environment for future generations.
Al-Benyan has held the position of Vice-Chairman and CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world’s largest petrochemicals manufacturers, since 2015.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in industrial management, in addition to many specialized diplomas in executive management.
Throughout his rich career, he occupied several posts, most notably Vice-Chairman and CEO of SABIC, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SABIC Agri-Nutrients, SABIC Investment and Local Content Development Company (Nusaned), the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), and the Petrochemical Manufacturers Committee. He was also member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Tadawul Group and the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE).
Al-Benyan was also appointed Chairman of the Business Group (B20) of the Group of Twenty (G20) under the Saudi Presidency. Moreover, he chaired the boards of a number of companies, and was member of many business boards, forums, boards of institutions, bodies and programs at the national and global levels.
Coming from the corridors of industrial giants, Al-Benyan is expected to contribute to the alignment of the education sector with Saudi Arabia’s goal to improve the learning environment and to stimulate creativity and innovation in order to meet the requirements of national development and the needs of the labor market.
The minister is also expected to employ his administrative experience in the building of work systems, executive strategies, and awareness of the conditions for industrial and scientific success, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to harmonize the outputs of the educational system with the needs of the labor market, expand vocational training to advance economic development, and concentrate scholarship opportunities on areas that serve the national economy.
