Acwa Appoints New CEO
The Board of Directors at Acwa has named Dr. Samir J. Serhan as the company's new Chief Executive Officer, effective today. Dr. Serhan previously served as President of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East at Acwa and was formerly the COO of US-based Air Products.
Dr. Serhan steps into the role previously held by Marco Arcelli, who was appointed CEO in March 2023. Arcelli's tenure focused on steering ACWA Power's regional and global expansion with the ambitious goal of tripling the company's asset base to $250 billion by 2030. The new CEO inherits a company in a strong growth phase. In 2024, ACWA Power reported a 6% rise in net profit to SAR 1.75 billion and a 3.3% increase in consolidated revenues. The company's project portfolio has a total investment value of approximately $85.5 billion as of March 2024. Dr. Serhan's background in the industrial gases sector at Air Products, Praxair, and The Linde Group aligns with ACWA Power's increasing focus on green hydrogen projects. The company is a key partner in the NEOM Green Hydrogen project, which aims to be the world's largest, producing 1.2 million tons of green ammonia annually. ACWA Power is aggressively expanding its renewable energy footprint. In July 2025, the company signed power purchase agreements for seven new solar and wind projects in Saudi Arabia, totaling 15 GW with an investment of $8.3 billion. This is part of a broader strategy of international expansion into high-growth markets in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. Recently, the company has been focused on innovation, signing 27 partnership agreements with global institutions like MIT and Stanford University to advance clean energy and water desalination technologies. These collaborations target green hydrogen, advanced desalination, energy storage, and the use of artificial intelligence in its facilities. The company's strategic vision is closely tied to Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to have 50% of its electricity generated by renewables by that year. ACWA Power, with the Public Investment Fund as its largest shareholder, is a key vehicle for achieving this target and for exporting low-carbon expertise globally.
