Dr Samir Serhan assumed responsibility of the power and water desalination firm from Marco Arcelli, who had been in post for around three years.

Serhan previously served as Acwa’s executive vice president for six months after an eight-year stint as COO at industrial gas major Air Products.

He left Air Products in September 2024 amid early calls from investors for an overhaul at the company, which was deemed to be expanding too far into green hydrogen projects.

Acwa, alongside Air Products, is a one-third owner of the 2.2GW Neom green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, Acwa stressed that its long-term direction and growth strategy in the region remain unchanged, which includes its 4.4GW Yanbu green hydrogen project.

Acwa said the changeover is part of a structured succession planning process overseen by its Board Nomination and Remuneration Committee

In a LinkedIn post, departing CEO, Arcelli, who will continue to serve Acwa in an advisory capacity, welcomed Serhan to his new role and hailed his own tenure as having doubled the company’s capacity to 96GW.