Within the high-stakes drilling industry, where operational complexity and market volatility are commonplace, the Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) responsibility has expanded beyond typical financial stewardship. These days, the CFO plays a crucial role in guiding drilling firms through rocky seas by using financial knowledge to inform strategic choices and promote long-term development. The industry is dealing with never-before-seen obstacles, such as volatile commodity prices and strict regulations. It is therefore critical that the CFO be able to combine financial knowledge with creative problem-solving.
Youssef Salem is an Egyptian CFO at ADNOC Drilling (largest integrated driller in the world, executing on the largest ever accelerated bookbuild in MENA ($935m), $1.5bn JV with Alpha Dhabi, and $2bn financings). His journey began when he studied at the American University in Cairo. Youssef was dynamic at University as he pursued an internship with QInvest (the largest investment bank in Qatar), then he joined them full time upon graduation. Later, Youssef moved to UAE with Moelis (a leading global investment bank) as Executive Director and then as Senior Advisor. In parallel, he was CFO of Swvl (the first unicorn from the Middle East to list on Nasdaq, and first mass transit tech platform to go public globally in a $1.5bn de-SPAC). Youssef then became CFO of AIQ (the fastest unicorn in the Middle East and first AI unicorn in $1.4bn merger with Presight). This journey led to his current position as CFO at ADNOC Drilling.
This article examines the ways in which a contemporary CFO in the drilling industry may use their knowledge to improve operational effectiveness, and aim for success.
What are the main factors that guided you to where you are now?
I have been very fortunate in working with organizations and teams undertaking strategic transformations. I started with QInvest at the time of its transformation to a merchant bank that combines financial advisory and principal capital deployment activities. With Moelis, it grew into the largest investment bank in the Middle East off the back of leading the largest IPO in the world for Aramco and the largest strategic transformation globally for ADNOC. At Swvl, it was the first Egyptian company to list in the US. AIQ was a partnership between ADNOC and G42 that became a unicorn in under 3 years. And finally, ADNOC Drilling transformed from a driller into an integrated oilfield technologies provider. These transformations opened the door for accelerated career opportunities.
I have also been very privileged for the support system that allowed me to benefit from these opportunities. I received a great education, grew up with my parents, who are both professors, as role models, and got married at 20 creating a very stable and happy personal and family life as a strong foundation to build on.
Given your years of experience and accomplishments, what would you say was your biggest achievement?
Being the youngest CFO on both Nasdaq and Abu Dhabi Exchange, and the first CFO in MENA to take 2 startups to the unicorn stage, one being the first to list on Nasdaq, and the other being the fastest one.
What is the quote that inspires you the most?
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “If the Final Hour comes while you have a palm-cutting in your hands and it is possible to plant it before the Hour comes, you should plant it.” 1,400 years ago the prophet was talking about the importance of work and execution regardless of the circumstances, about doing your absolute best regardless of how big or small of a difference it will make, and about the environment and sustainability.
How would you balance the pursuit of wealth and success with personal fulfillment and happiness?
I think they all come together. Pursuit of prosperity for me should have 2 objectives, ability to provide a financial safety net for the family and to make impactful contributions to society, both bring fulfillment and happiness. Similarly, success should be aimed at contributing to the success of the community and nation at large, again bringing fulfillment and happiness from the bigger cause. And the other way around, fulfillment and happiness should create the right environment for hard work that brings success and prosperity.
What personality traits contributed to you being a successful CFO?
Think the top traits for a CFO are relentless execution on value creation, and communication. Ultimately, the CFO is a capital custodian and a driver of returns on this capital. Hence, top focus should be on finding every way to create value for shareholders and other stakeholders, whether by driving strategic transformations, corporate development, financial and corporate performance, financial structuring, and investor relations. This execution on value creations needed to be then communicated very clearly and impactfully to all internal and external stakeholders including employees, leadership, board, shareholders, customers, partners, suppliers, regulators and the public to ensure alignment and translation of these levers into tangible value for all stakeholders.
Are there any significant financial challenges facing the drilling industry today? Can you name the most relevant ones?
Value creation for investors. Today investors have clear ESG mandates and commitments, and drillers need to demonstrate tangible and genuine progress on the road to net zero, to ensure they can continue to attract blue-chip investors globally, and deliver total shareholder returns for these investors.
In light of your journey and experiences, what message would you like to convey to aspiring youth in the drilling field?
With climate change and net zero targets, it is important to future proof careers in the energy industry by ensuring a well rounded focus on energy and energy transition, and latest themes transforming the sector like climate tech and AI.
What is your personal team leadership philosophy, and how does it shape the approach and methodologies used by ADNOC Drilling?
Focus on empowerment. Providing every person in the team with the platform and resources that allows them to build individual ownership and accountability, and hence grow professionally and personally while contributing to the success of the wider team.
What is the most valuable lesson learned from your professional journey?
To always embrace and leverage transformations and changes. They unlock significant career opportunities. Also to start the career specializing in one area allowing the buildup of a strong foundation and expertise in this area. Then at a certain point starting to move into different roles that all build on this foundation but from different angles, allowing for a more well-rounded experience. This combination means you can always thrive as an individual contributor and have your own unique strength that you bring to any team, but also allows you to have a leadership role that requires an understanding of broader stakeholders and functions.
Tell us more about what distinguishes ADNOC Drilling from others providing similar services?
We are the only driller in the region, and possibly the world, who not only provides drilling and directly associated services, but rather provides a lump sum turnkey offering where we can complete a well end to end with in-house capabilities, people and assets. This allows clients to have complete certainty over the well cost, and unlocks substantial efficiencies by having 1 stop shop that removes all interfaces needed between different service providers.
Where do you see the future of the drilling industry heading in the next 3-5 years, and how do you plan to adapt to those changes?
We see massive growth as oil demand continues to increase driven by rapid growth especially in the Global South, while at the same time demand for gas spikes particularly given the massive energy demand needs of AI and data centers. We plan to cope with this by continuing to expand our fleet, which at 140 rigs is already one of the largest in the world, and other services assets and resources.
Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives you’re particularly excited about, and how do they align with ADNOC Drilling’s strategic goals?
AI! It will completely transform drilling firstly, as outlined above, by massively increasing demand for energy and hence drilling, and secondly by introducing autonomous drilling. One of the key strategic initiatives for us is autonomous rigs which sustainably enhances safety by reducing the size of the crew that is exposed to on-site hazards, and allows us our best talent to be better placed in safer and higher impact remote control operations.
