KARACHI: Pakistan State Oil Company Limited (PSO) has formally notified the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that its Board of Management has appointed Jawwad Ahmed Cheema as Chief Executive Officer for a three-year term, effective 18 May 2026. Mr. Cheema succeeds Abdus Sami, who serves as interim CEO.
A distinguished C-suite executive, Mr. Cheema brings over 28 years of experience in the downstream energy sector, including nearly two decades in corporate leadership roles spanning five countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and South Asia.
His career covers the full downstream value chain retail fuels, lubricants, storage infrastructure, supply chain management, strategy, and international portfolio management with a consistent thread of strategic transformation, business turnaround, and large-scale organisational change running through every assignment.
The centerpiece of his career is a 26-year tenure with Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world's largest energy majors, during which he rose from frontline retail operations in Pakistan to the most senior levels of Shell's global leadership, progressing through Indonesia, Singapore, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom each assignment representing a substantive expansion of scope, complexity, and accountability.
As Managing Director and CEO of Shell Pakistan Limited, he successfully steered one of the country's most prominent publicly listed energy companies through a period of significant strategic and operational transformation in one of the region's most complex and fast-evolving energy markets.
In subsequent international roles, Mr. Cheema served as Vice President of Strategy & Portfolio at Shell International B.V. in The Hague, where he directed global downstream infrastructure portfolio strategy across multiple continents, delivering significant enterprise value through network optimisation, asset rationalisation, and supply chain reconfiguration.
As Vice President of Shell Business Operations in Singapore, he transformed Shell's global business process outsourcing function, driving large-scale workforce expansion and operational consolidation across a global network. Earlier, as Strategy & Management Consultancy Manager, he led business turnarounds, divestments, new market entries, and integrated downstream reviews across Asia-Pacific.
Mr. Cheema's expertise also extends to high-growth market entries, most notably as General Manager leading Shell's end-to-end retail fuels entry into Indonesia a complex, fast-growing emerging market.
Most recently, he served as CEO of Karachi Hydrocarbon Terminal (KHT), a strategic joint venture under the VTTI B.V. portfolio, managing Pakistan's primary petroleum import and distribution terminal at Port Qasim.
Beyond executive leadership, Mr. Cheema has exercised significant governance authority as Chairman of the Board of Shell Pakistan Limited and as a Director on the boards of Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) and Pakistan Arab Pipeline Company (PAPCO) the most strategically significant nodes of Pakistan's downstream infrastructure.
With a rare combination of commercial sharpness, strategic clarity, and the operational discipline to execute at scale in complex, regulated, and politically sensitive energy environments, Mr. Cheema stands as a leader shaped by the most rigorous global standards and deeply rooted in the realities of Pakistan's energy landscape.
