Key Executives

ANDREW ROBERTS - Legal Advisor

Mr. Roberts was a partner in private practice with a London law firm before working in-house in the oil business. He has substantial international experience having been based, at various points in his career, in London, Qatar, Dubai, Malaysia and Geneva. He has acquired specific experience in relation to onshore and offshore upstream oil and gas related matters. Mr. Roberts graduated from Oxford University with an MA (Honours) and was admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales in 1984.

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.

RENE H. HANSEN - Human Resources & Administration Manager

He is responsible for Crescent’s administrative departments and human resources including employee relations, recruitment, compensation and benefits, training and development, performance management and organizational development. Rene holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Psychology from Montana State University and a Master’s degree in Arab and Middle Eastern Studies from the American University of Beirut. Rene has more than 13 years of international experience and started his career with Kroger in the US where he spent seven years before moving to the Middle East in 2003 when he enrolled at the American University of Beirut, Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies. He comes to us from Saba & Co. Intellectual Property where as Group HR Manager, he played a leading role in establishing modern HR infrastructures in the UAE and the broader MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

STEPHEN MENEZES - Insurance and Compliance 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.

MAHDI MOSA - Reservoir Development Manager

Mr. Mahdi Mosa responsibilities are centered on development of Mubarek Field and Exploration/Evaluation of Sharjah Onshore Concession and Sir Abu Nu’ayr areas, in addition to evaluating and decision making on various international upstream opportunities. He is highly experienced in reservoir development and management of super giant fields in Iraq. Mr. Mosa who joined Crescent Petroleum in 1997 received two bachelor degrees in Petroleum Engineering and Mathematics and a Master degree in Petroleum Engineering, all from the University of Texas at Austin.

DILEEP G. PILLAI - Information Technology Manager

He has been with the company since 2001. He has been working in the IT field for over 15 years in different technical and techno-commercial positions. As IT Manager, he is responsible for policy development, setting technical standards, determination and implementation of the IT requirement of the Company. He has a Bachelor degree of Engineering in Electronics & Communication from MS University, India and an M.B.A. from Mahatma Gandhi University, India.

SALEM J. RAZOKY - Branch Manager, Irbil Office

Mr. Salem Razoky is a Geophysical Engineer with a professional degree from the Colorado School of Mines, and a Masters of Science from the University of Baghdad. He has had a highly successful career spanning over 40 years in the USA, Algeria and Iraq which included seismic field work, processing and interpretation of seismic data, Manager of Foreign Seismic Crews in INOC, Director of Exploration Planning, Assistant Director General of Exploration, Director of special Strategic Projects  and was recently Acting Director General of Oil Exploration Company in Iraq. He brings with him valuable knowledge and expertise as one of the leading experts in Iraqi oil and gas exploration.

HAMID ZAHERI - General Manager, Tehran Office

He has a Bachelors degree from Abadan Petroleum University, an MBA from Harvard University Branch in Tehran and a PhD in Business Marketing from Pacific Western University in California. He spent over 30 years with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and served 9 years as OPEC's Director of Information and Spokesman - Vienna. Among the positions he has held are the Vice President of Iran Institute for Energy Studies, Managing Director of Iran Association for Energy Economics, and Director for International Affairs at National Iranian Petrochemical Company.