Key Executives

ARIF RAFIQ ARIF - Iraq Country Manager and Baghdad Branch Manager

He is a geologist by education, holding a Bachelor's degree in Geological Sciences from Baghdad University, and a Higher Diploma in Upstream Petroleum Activities from the French Petroleum Institute, France. He has extensive and diversified experience in various petroleum industry activities with over 30 years as Geologist, Drilling Superintendent, Director of Exploration Geology, and Director of Planning mainly with the Iraq National Oil Company and the Iraq Oil Exploration Company. Prior to joining Crescent Petroleum he was Head of the Contracts and Agreements Department and Chief Contracts Negotiator at the Iraq Oil Exploration Company.

SALAH AZIZ KARIM - Group Senior Advisor, Iraq

He has more than 40 years of rich and diverse experience in Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering, Project Management, Pipeline Construction and Oil & Gas operations and was instrumental in design, development, installation, and commissioning of major Oil and Gas plant projects all over Iraq. He was previously Director General - Pipelines Oil Company under the Ministry of Oil (Iraq). Mr Karim has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the UK.

SAJI CHACKO - Accounts Manager

He is responsible for all accounting and related functions for the Crescent Petroleum Group. Saji joined PricewaterhouseCoopers, India during 1991 as part of training for his Chartered Accountancy. Thereafter, he worked in their Mumbai, Singapore and Dubai offices, and joined Crescent Petroleum in 2001. He is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and also a graduate member of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India.

RAKESH N. EDAVALATH - Supply Chain and Contracts Manager

Mr. Rakesh Edavalath is responsible for the Supply Chain management including logistics, procurement, warehousing and contracts management. He is a Supply Chain professional with over 20 years of experience with multinational companies. He previously worked for 12 years in ONGC in India and 7 years with ADNOC Group in Abu Dhabi in various capacities. Rakesh holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Kerala University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Materials Management from the Indian Institute of Materials Management, Mumbai, India.

SYED ZAKI HASSAN - Senior Finance Manager

He is an international gas and power specialist with 16 years’ in-depth experience advising governments, multinationals, and public and private sector clients on deal structuring, energy economics, business strategy, market restructuring, valuation and regulation/policy across the world. He was the Managing Director, Corporate Finance with Global Union Energy ventures in Bahrain and Director, Energy Corporate Finance with PricewaterhouseCoopers in London before joining Crescent as Consultant Financial Advisor. Mr Hassan holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from London University and a degree in Physics from Oxford University.

KHALID AL HITTI - Iraq Communications Manager

Mr. Khalid Al Hitti is responsible for the planning, development and implementation of  strategic external communications programs.   Prior to joining Crescent Petroleum, he was a university professor, UN public information specialist, diplomat, spokesperson, journalist and an accomplished researcher with over 30 years of multifaceted professional experience.  Khalid holds a Ph.D. (honors) in mass communication from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.Sc. in journalism from Ohio University, BA in English from Baghdad University and a post-graduate degree in international relations from the Institute of Foreign Service for Senior Diplomats. Inter alia, he has over 7 years of professional experience as a director of a UN information centre and a Minister Plenipotentiary at the Iraqi Mission to the United Nations in New York.

HIND O. KHEIR - Human Resources & Administration Manager

She is responsible for all areas of employee relations, including recruitment, compensation, benefits and employee training and development and labour relations. Her previous experience before joining Crescent Petroleum in 1990 was in software development. Mrs. Kheir holds a B.Sc. in Computer Science with a minor in Business Administration from the University of North Texas.

STEPHEN MENEZES - Insurance Manager

Stephen Menezes joined Crescent as Insurance Manager responsible for all insurance and risk management matters of the Company. He brings with him over 25 years of professional experience of which more than half are in the insurance industry. Most recently, he was with Emirates National Oil Co. (ENOC) as Group Insurance Controller and prior to that he worked with various insurance companies in Dubai including Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance, Northern Assurance Company and General Accident Insurance. Stephen holds a Bachelors degree from Mangalore University and is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of the U.K.