Five prominent, Bahrain-based chief executive officers have been recognised on Forbes Middle East’s prestigious fifth annual list of the ‘Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East’, highlighting the kingdom’s crucial role in steering regional industries toward innovation and economic diversification.
The ranking celebrates leaders whose mandates transcend mere business performance, positioning them as national builders who actively advance Bahrain’s economic vision and global competitiveness across key sectors like finance, industrials, and technology.
Mr Al Baqali
Topping the local list is Ali Al Baqali, CEO of Alba, who secured the highest ranking among the Bahrain-based executives at number 50 globally. Mr Al Baqali, a Bahraini national and long-serving Alba veteran since 1998, has steered the company – one of the world’s largest aluminium smelters – to significant achievements, including achieving over $7 billion in total assets as of June 2025.
Mr Kvålseth
Following closely on the list at number 69 is Andrew Kvålseth, the group chief executive officer of Beyon. Mr Kvålseth, who assumed his role in 2024, leads the diversified conglomerate encompassing vital subsidiaries such as Batelco by Beyon, Beyon Solutions, and Beyon Money. His leadership strongly aligns with Bahrain’s digital transformation efforts, demonstrated by recent partnerships with the Education Ministry on digital learning and the crucial launch of the kingdom’s first AI-Ready Sovereign HyperCloud in collaboration with the Information and eGovernment Authority.
Mr Ahmed
Usman Ahmed (ranked 83), the group chief executive officer of National Bank of Bahrain (NBB), is recognised for driving innovation. Appointed in January 2023, Mr Ahmed oversees one of the kingdom’s largest financial institutions, which reported $15.8bn in assets and $133.4m in net profit during the first half of 2025. Key achievements include launching digital personal finance and positioning NBB as one of the first GCC banks to offer a principal-protected Bitcoin-linked investment product.
Mr Alrayes
Also representing the financial prowess of the kingdom is Bahraini national Hisham Alrayes (ranked 88), the group CEO of GFH Financial Group. Mr Alrayes has continuously expanded the group’s investment footprint. Notable moves include making a strategic $190m investment into logistics and industrial assets in Q2 2025.
Mr Nayed
Concluding the list for Bahrain at number 95 is Rafik Nayed, the group chief executive officer of Al Salam Bank. Since joining the bank in 2018, Mr Nayed has overseen substantial growth, with Al Salam Bank reporting $20.8bn in assets and $105.5m in net profit during the first half of 2025. His executive roles also include serving as managing director of ASB Capital.
Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer Amin H Nasser topped the overall list for 2025. He was followed by ADNOC Group chief executive officer Sultan Al Jaber and Emirates Airlines and Group chairman and chief executive officer Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum. International Holding Company’s (IHC) chief executive officer Syed Basar Shueb and QatarEnergy’s president and CEO Saad Al Kaabi completed the top five.
To create the ranking, Forbes Middle East took into account several metrics, including their impact on the region, their country, and the markets they serve; their overall experience and time in their current role; the size of the company in terms of key financial metrics; achievements and performance of the CEO over the past year along with the innovations and initiatives they have implemented.
avinash@gdnmedia.bh
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