Nabilah al-Tunisi (born c. 1959) (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

:نبيلة التونسي), was the chief engineer for

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...

. In 2017 Al-Tunisi became the first female chairman of the

Saudi Stock Exchange Saudi Stock Exchange () or Tadāwul () is a stock exchange in Saudi Arabia. Tadāwul was formed in 2007 as a joint stock company and the sole entity authorized to act as a securities exchange in Saudi Arabia, but trading began in 1954 as an info ...

(

Tadawul Saudi Stock Exchange () or Tadāwul () is a stock exchange in Saudi Arabia. Tadāwul was formed in 2007 as a joint stock company and the sole entity authorized to act as a securities exchange in Saudi Arabia, but trading began in 1954 as an info ...

Early life and education

The daughter of a Saudi general, Al-Tunisi grew up in

Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...

. When she was 12, her family moved to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

where her father became a military attaché at the Saudi Embassy in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. While in Spain, she attended a Spanish-American school and took

lessons at night. At the age of 15, she returned and completed

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Riyadh. But at the age of 17, she moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

to study electrical engineering at

Lewis & Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & Cl ...

, with encouragement from her parents and where her brother was also studying. Al-Tunisi's fascination with computers came as she was preparing for the requisite English test. By 1980 she had gained a Bachelor in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

and a masters in computer engineering from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

.Oregon State University honors Saudi woman
, ''Saudi Gazette'', April 14, 2010 Al-Tunisi also completed the Stanford’s Executive Business Program in 2007, after being rejected two decades earlier for the Master's program there in

Computer engineering Computer engineering (CoE or CpE) is a branch of electrical engineering and computer science that integrates several fields of computer science and electronic engineering required to develop computer hardware and software. Computer engineers ...

Career

Her uncle, a friend of the Saudi oil minister, encouraged her to apply to Saudi Aramco,Christopher Helman
The Other Face of Saudi Aramco
''Forbes'', 24 July 2008 in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. Al-Tunisi had first searched and applied for various positions in the tech industry, including

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

, and

PG&E The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...

. She even turned down a job with

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

before she joined the company as a computer systems engineer in 1982. In 1984 she moved to the engineering and project management division. In 1996 she led the company´s planning department for IT facilities and electrical networks. She served as General Manager of Northern Area Project Management in Saudi Aramco. For Saudi Aramco, she also directed one of the largest hydrocarbon and petrochemical complex. Al-Tunisi developed software to monitor oil assets and implemented automation systems for the transport of oil and gas. She became the chief engineer of Aramco in 2015. In 2018, the Sadara Chemical Company opened for business. The joint project between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical was led by Al-Tunisi and took nearly 10 years of planning. She is also preparing the plastic production crude oil-to-chemical plant together with Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation. Al-Tunisi is currently Managing Director of energy and water sector at

Neom Neom (styled NEOM; ''Neom,'' ) is a city being built in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate smart city technologies and function as a tourist destination. The site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt acro ...

Distinctions

In 2006, she was named on the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management. In 2010

honored her with membership of their Academy of Distinguished Engineers. In 2014 ''Forbes Middle East'' listed her at # 4 in their list of the 200 Most Powerful Arab Women in Executive Management. In 2018, she ranked 17th on the Forbes List of most influential women in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tunisi, Nabilah 20th-century Saudi Arabian engineers 20th-century women engineers 21st-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople 21st-century Saudi Arabian engineers 21st-century women engineers 1959 births Businesspeople in the oil industry Electrical engineers Year of birth uncertain Lewis & Clark College alumni Living people Oregon State University alumni Saudi Arabian business executives Saudi Arabian women engineers Saudi Arabian women in business