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OM23_GE_ABB_Sana Saad

OMAN - Green Economy

Sana Saad

Country Holder Officer, ABB Oman

Bio

Sana Saad, an Omani woman with long-term experience and leadership in finance is currently working as a Country Holder Officer at multinational company ABB. Prior to that, she worked as a commercial finance manager at Shell Oman Marketing. She firm-ly believes in the core values of work and life; i.e collaboration, having the courage to speak and the curiosity to do more, culture, and diversity. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Karachi University with various certifications in leadership.

"One of ABB’s advantages over its competitors is that it has a big install base and is geographically well located across 100 countries."
ABB is committed to employing innovative strategies for digitalization and renewable energies all over the world.
Can you provide an overview of the company and some of its major highlights in the past year?

ABB has four divisions—power automation, motion, electrification and robotics & discrete automation—and three out of four divisions are present in ABB Oman. The major highlight of the past three years has been digitalization. ABB is a pioneer in digitalization and sustainability solutions. The world is on an energy-efficient current, and our mission is to drive the industry to net zero in line with our sustainability strategy. In 2021, ABB made some data-driven decisions in real-time public operations that maximized our resource efficiency and contribut-ed to a low-carbon future. Another highlight was e-mobility and e-charging, which is a growing trend in Oman. Digitalization and renewable energy are the sectors we target the most, in particular power automation companies, mainly oil and gas. We can maximize energy efficiency movements by omitting CO2. We are into the sustainable motions and drives, where a zero-carbon future can be achieved. Automation reduces cost, increases time efficiency, and reduces both CAPEX and OPEX, all moving toward raising profitability. That is the main idea of automation, renewable energy, and digitalization: reduce capital and operation costs.

How would you characterize the Omani market in terms of renewable energy and digitalization?

Compared to the global drive, Oman is progressing slowly but surely. Along with most companies, we are being pushed toward e-mobility or energy-efficient movements; however, more needs to be done about tariffs. They need to be dis-closed because that is the trend and direction we are all heading toward. Currently, there is hesitancy in Oman’s market, and we are not in an accelerated mode. ABB and the government together can work on that.

How important is it for ABB to promote local talent and develop human resources?

One of the key elements of ABB is ICV, and we adopted an Omanization policy. Our industry’s target is 35% Omanization, and we are far ahead of that. We have a talented and excellent team of Omanis. We also have more Omani women. ABB’s strategy is to support the growth of talented women in the industry. There are, of course, challenges such as attracting and retaining talent, and it is an ongoing process. Working together, we provide them with training and competi-tive compensation packages, and send them overseas for job training empowering them to work independently.

What are ABB’s competitive advantages that set it apart from its competitors?

One of ABB’s advantages over its competitors is that it has a big install base and is geographically well located across 100 countries. We are reliable and adaptable to future changes and trends. We are adapting current trends such as digitalization, robotics, marine vessels, or automation to whatever the future demands. We are not strict or limited to traditional working methods. ABB has a rich heritage of innovative technologies such as collaborative robotics, motors and drives, and small circuits used for high currents. The company has decided to focus on sustainable growth and sustainability, and ABB Oman is closely aligned on that. The short-term goal is to remain sustainable to retain Omani and expat talents. We need to coordinate with the government to provide a low-carbon future to the world.

How do you embed sustainability in your business strategy, and what are you doing to help society and industry be more sustainable and environmentally friendly?

Sustainability is one of ABB’s 2030 strategies, and we have targets aligning with our strategies of sustainability. Our governance framework is at the center of what we do. It comes down to the integrity and transparency of employees, customers, and suppliers. They follow the value chain in a sustainable and reliable way. ABB is committed to providing sustainability, including a low-carbon future. That is our main focus. We must be sustainable and provide a low-carbon future to work with suppliers and customers aligned with our value chain.

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