McDermott International has appointed Ahmed Ali Attiga, a former chief executive of the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), to its board of directors. This strategic move is seen as an effort to bolster the company's standing in the Middle East, where it is actively bidding for billions of dollars' worth of engineering, procurement, construction, and installation projects in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.

Appointee's Background and Expertise

Ahmed Ali Attiga is an economist and banker with extensive global experience in the energy sector. His career includes a tenure as CEO of APICORP from 2017 to 2022, where he led a comprehensive transformation of the organization's governance, growth, financial management, and risk management. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), overseeing investment and advisory programs across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. His experience also encompasses advisory and capital raising for private equity and infrastructure investments in MENA, work with the World Bank Group, and earlier roles as a privatization advisor to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and as a research associate in Kuwait.

Strategic Rationale for the Appointment

The appointment is intended to leverage Attiga's deep regional expertise in international finance, governance, and energy sector operations to strengthen McDermott's position in key markets. An industry source indicated that his knowledge would help consolidate the company's positioning as it competes for major regional projects. The addition of Attiga followed shareholder approval to expand the size of McDermott's board to ten members.