Head of Internal Audit and Compliance at Sohar Aluminium (2015-07 – Present)
$1bn revenue primary aluminium producer; JV between OQ, Rio Tinto, and TAQA. Built the Internal Audit & Compliance function from the ground up, leading a co-sourced Big 4 delivery model reporting directly to the Board Audit Committee.
- Established the organisation's first direct Audit Committee reporting relationship, replacing external firm presentation with an independent in-house voice — introducing risk-impact executive summaries, pre-meeting Chair briefings, and a strategic theme framework distinguishing value preservation from value creation. Audit function KPIs introduced for the first time, sustaining recommendation implementation rates of 75–93% over a decade with auditee feedback consistently rated 4+ out of 5.
- Eliminated critical assurance gaps across global supply chain, operations and business continuity by maturing the ERM risk taxonomy and register, growing audit-tested coverage of high/medium ERM risks from a 40% pre-taxonomy baseline (2015) to 90% as of the 2023 audit plan refresh. Established a combined assurance framework integrating ERM, EHS, BCM, and Financial Control, leveraging JV partner OEM reviews to reduce high-risk operations audit frequency from annual to triennial. JV partner shareholder audit rights were exercised only once across an eleven-year period.
- Identified the absence of a Board-approved strategic planning framework — with organisational vision and direction being set through ad hoc consultant workshops rather than a structured internal methodology, resulting in management developing and implementing a formal strategic planning policy and procedure that remains in use today.
- Designed and governed a six-step SLA framework for co-sourced Big 4 audit delivery — embedded in the RFP process and requiring personal sign-off at each stage — maintaining quality control throughout planning, fieldwork and reporting, enforcing payment denial on one engagement where delivery standards were not met. Maintained a live portfolio of 381 audit observations with a sub-7% overdue rate through monthly implementation reviews.
- Designed the organisation's first behavioural ethics framework grounded in research from leading business schools and compliance best practices — embedding a structured decision-making framework, supervisor responsibilities, and a dedicated pre-reporting guidance channel. Delivered mandatory training to 100% of employees at launch, with sustained delivery through induction, refreshers, and LinkedIn Learning. Automated the conflict-of-interest disclosure process achieving 100% employee submission via SAP.
- Identified structural inadequacy in the existing ethics reporting mechanism — an internal mailbox and landline with no anonymity protections — and made the case at executive level, securing CEO mandate to implement a third-party multi-channel independent reporting platform (portal and telephone), supplemented by direct access to the Audit Committee-selected Head of Internal Audit via a programme-named contact, establishing the governance infrastructure that underpinned a decade of effective ethics reporting and case resolution with minimal escalation to formal Labour Court proceedings.
- Reviewed and rebuilt the Delegation of Authority framework, resolving significant structural inconsistencies in decision-authority assignments and misalignment with underlying policies and procedures — establishing clear RACI integrity and operational consistency across the organisation.
- Designed and personally conducted more than 40 investigations — encompassing management referrals and whistleblowing cases — applying a structured methodology of fact-check triage, documented justification with risk rating and time budget, CEO-authorised access to personnel files and electronic records where required, and Audit Committee reporting of findings and agreed actions.
Head of Internal Audit at Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) (2007-12 – 2015-06)
$4bn revenue primary aluminium producer, listed on the Bahrain Bourse; Reporting to the Chief Internal Audit & Risk Officer (CIARO). Managed a team of auditors delivering risk-based audits across the business.
- Generated measurable audit-driven financial returns through identification of recoverable and avoidable losses, wastage, contract anomalies, and process inefficiencies, consistently demonstrating the function's value beyond its operating cost.
- Redesigned the Levels of Authority framework, delegating contract approval from GM/CFO/CEO level to middle management based on risk, value, and duration thresholds — accelerating commercial execution while maintaining proportionate governance controls.
- Progressively reduced audit cycle times across successive plan periods through methodology refinement and resource optimisation.
Manager, Finance and MIS at Crane Bank (2005-03 – 2007-01)
Led full Misys Bankmaster core banking implementation — redesigning chart of accounts, system-based controls, and ATM integration — enabling branch network expansion and automated fee capture to eliminate revenue leakage.
Audit Senior at Ernst & Young (2002-04 – 2005-02)
Trained at EY Uganda through a structured graduate programme, completing the ACCA qualification in 2.5 years while managing multi-sector statutory audit engagements including banking, FMCG, oil & gas, aviation, insurance, hospitality, and telecom - gaining broad business process and IFRS application knowledge.
