BlackRock has named Saudi Aramco’s chief executive Amin Nasser to the board of directors of the world’s biggest asset manager as an independent director.
The CEO of the world’s largest oil company by oil production, exports, and market capitalization joined BlackRocks’s board on Monday, while the asset manager is preparing for the departure of another board member.
Bader M. Alsaad, Director General and Chairman of the Board of the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development, will serve the remainder of his term this year and will not stand for reelection to the Board in 2024, BlackRock said in a statement.
BlackRock’s Chairman and CEO Laurence D. Fink said, commenting on Nasser’s election to the board,
“Amin’s distinguished career at Aramco, spanning more than four decades, gives him a unique perspective on many of the key issues facing our firm and our clients.”
“His leadership experience, understanding of the global energy industry and the drivers of the shift towards a low carbon economy, as well as his knowledge of the Middle East region, will all contribute meaningfully to the BlackRock Board dialogue,” Fink added.
BlackRock has been looking to strike a balance in the energy transition and the ESG drive to divest from fossil fuels. The world’s top asset manager has faced criticism from both environmental campaigners for still investing in conventional energy and Republican-led U.S. states for what they see as a boycott of the U.S. energy industry. BlackRock said in a memo last year that it is and will continue to be an energy investor, with $91 billion invested in fossil fuel companies in Texas alone. The asset manager looks to balance the message for Texas, following BlackRock’s increased focus on ESG.
Aramco’s Nasser, for his part, has repeatedly said that ESG investment, if outright biased against the oil and gas industry, is a threat to energy affordability and energy security.
“If ESG-driven policies are implemented with an automatic bias against any and all conventional energy projects, the resulting underinvestment will have serious implications. For the global economy. For energy affordability. And for energy security,” Aramco’s top executive said in February this year.
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