DOHA, 26 October 2004 — United Development Company QSC (UDC), the largest private shareholding company in Qatar and investor/developer of The Pearl-Qatar and other major industrial projects, has announced the appointment of David J. Kjos as chief executive officer.
Kjos immediately assumes overall responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the company and will lead its continued development and growth, reporting to Khalil P. Sholy, the UDC board’s managing director and member of the executive committee.
“We are fortunate to have someone of David’s caliber to lead us through our next phase of development. His balanced mix of strategic, project, financial, operations and organizational experience, combined with his strong leadership skills and vision will significantly strengthen the executive management team and overall governance of the company,” said Sholy.
Kjos has 30 years of relevant business management and leadership experience, and joined UDC in March 2003 as director for major projects development. Prior to joining UDC, Kjos held key positions at the vice-president and general manager levels with Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation and Filtrol Corporation.
Also announced last Wednesday was the appointment of Michael Bastian as chief financial officer, reporting directly to Kjos. Bastian is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and brings to the position over 33 years of international banking and finance experience. He joins UDC from the Syndicate Bank of India, one of India’s largest banks, after a successful career as its CEO.
“Michael’s financial experience is exactly right and timely for UDC as the implementation of its various projects gathers pace, said Sholy.
UDC (www.udcqatar.com) is a multi-dimensional project development and investment company. Its mission is to identify, promote, develop and invest in long-term projects in partnership with leading international companies. The company was established in mid-1999 and listed on the Doha Securities Market in June 2003. UDC is a Gulf Business Top 150 company with active development and investment projects in the real estate, construction, utilities and industrial sectors.
