GPCA Chairman distinguished with global honor for positive impact in chemical industry

Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, CEO, SABIC, and Chairman, GPCA, was ranked #1 in the 2025 ICIS Top 40 Power Players, a global ranking of the leading CEOs and senior executives driving the greatest positive impact in their companies and the chemical industry

The Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Chairman, and the CEO of SABIC, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, was named as the world’s most prominent chemical industry executive making a mark on the chemical industry globally.

The 2025 ICIS Top 40 Power Players is a global ranking of the leading CEOs and senior executives driving the greatest positive impact in their companies and the chemical industry

ICIS cited SABIC’s streamlining of its operations by selling its metals business and shutting down less efficient plants in Europe, while investing in large chemical projects in Asia and Saudi Arabia, as some of the key drivers behind the recognition.

“Al-Fageeh is overseeing a USD 6.4 billion cracker project in Gulei Industrial Park in China through the SABIC FUJIAN Petrochemicals joint venture which will be another milestone for the company’s China footprint when it starts up in 2026,” said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

“SABIC is also a leader in circularity with a target of processing 1 million tons/year of waste plastics by 2030 to produce recycled polymers,” he added.

In November 2024, SABIC and Plastic Energy completed their SPEAR (SABIC Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling) joint venture project in Geleen, Netherlands with mixed waste plastics input capacity of 20,000 tons/year.

Al-Fageeh has been selected as #1 in the listing for 2025, followed by Dow CEO Jim Fitterling at #2 and Karen McKee, president of ExxonMobil Product Solutions at #3.

The ICIS Top 40 Power Players are selected by the global ICIS editorial team for demonstrating excellence and vision in one or more of the following areas: Innovation, Profitability/Shareholder Value, Projects, Mergers & Acquisitions/Portfolio Management, Advocacy and ESG (environmental, social, governance).