United Arab Emirates, 18 September 2021: Walid Al Attar, Chief Commercial Officer of Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has been named ‘World’s Top Aluminium Executive 2020-2021’ at an annual global industry summit in Chicago.

The award, presented at the Harbor Aluminum Summit each year, recognises outstanding long-term contributions to the global aluminium industry.

Mr. Al Attar was the key architect of EGA’s drive to maximise the value of its production by focusing on ‘premium aluminium’, made to customer specifications. EGA is the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer, with over 440 customers in more than 50 countries.

Mr. Al Attar joined Dubai Aluminium in 1984 as a trainee, and began work as a transport administrator in the shipping department. He joined Dubai Aluminium’s Marketing & Sales team in 1994, playing a leading role in the initial transition from selling commodity metal to traders to building direct relationships with customers making products using aluminium. He was made General Manager of Marketing & Sales in 2005.

When Dubai Aluminium merged with Emirates Aluminium in 2014 to form EGA, Mr. Al Attar was appointed Chief Marketing Officer. In 2020, Mr. Al Attar was promoted to the new position of Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for both marketing & sales and supply chain. He also serves as President of EGA America Inc., the distributor of the company’s metal in North America.

Mr. Al Attar said: “This is an award for the whole of EGA, and recognises the contributions of everyone in driving our growth to become the biggest ‘premium aluminium’ producer in the world. Although we have achieved a great deal over the decades to build EGA into a national industrial champion and leader in its sector, we have bold aspirations for the future – including to further deepen our relationships with our customers, and to grow our economic contribution in the UAE.”

Jorge Vasquez, Founder and Managing Director of Harbor Aluminum, said: “Walid Al Attar is well-respected in the global aluminium industry, both for his pivotal role in the growth of EGA, and for helping make the company the industry's standard for successful marketing & sales and customer relationships. I was honoured to present this award to Walid, on behalf of his industry peers.”

The Harbor Aluminum Summit is the world’s largest annual market gathering of the aluminium industry, currently in its 13^th edition. It is typically attended by over 360 global companies.