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Winner – British Council’s Study UK Alumni Awards (Business and Innovation) - Saudi Arabia.
Right career chemistry provides the catalyst for prolific innovator and holder of 50 patents
Dr. Raed Abudawood, Chief Executive Officer, has been instrumental in directing the Saudi Aramco – SABIC Research & Technology integration efforts, and the expansion of Saudi Aramco’s catalyst R&D in fuels, chemicals, and sustainability. His studies at The University of Manchester equipped him with in-depth understanding of catalysis fundamentals and application, along with the capacity to innovate breakthrough catalyst technologies. It’s a combination of his experience in business and technology that is now enabling Raed to make an impact at the national and international level.
Raed was recently named the recipient of the British Council’s prestigious Study UK Alumni Awards (Business and Innovation category), which are open to alumni living anywhere outside the UK. Award winners and finalists are leaders in their fields who have used their experience of studying at a UK university to make a positive contribution to their communities, industries and countries. The Awards celebrate and showcase the impact and value of a UK higher education. Business and Innovation category winners are those active in initiating and contributing to innovative or creative new ideas, solutions or business opportunities that have the potential for growth. Raed was also a finalist in the 2023 Awards.
Looking at his academic and career history, it’s easy to see why Raed was selected for this honour.
Raed’s career with Saudi Aramco dates back to 2000, when he undertook a summer trainee position with the company. It was the start of an enduring and successful career, with a series of notable milestones along the way, including 2011 when he was awarded his PhD in Chemical Engineering & Analytical Science (thesis entitled “Hydroisomerization of Alkanes over Metal-loaded Zeolite Catalysts”, December 2010; Supervised by Dr. Arthur Garforth).
It was an extraordinary period for Raed, professionally but also personally – he married just before arriving in Manchester, where he lived and studied for five years, and the couple welcomed their first child just before leaving.
Returning to Saudi Arabia, he quickly applied his learning and was granted his first patent in 2015. On 10th December 2024, he was granted his 50th patent from the US Patent & Trademark Office – a historic achievement and a major milestone in Raed’s career and life.
He’s no stranger to recognition and Raed was also awarded the Saudi Aramco CEO Excellence Award 2020 – in recognition of his team in planning and implementing the integration of SABIC into Saudi Aramco’s group of companies. He was also featured in the ‘Movers & Shakers’ section of the June 2019 issue of The Catalyst Review, a publication of The Catalyst Group Resources, Inc.
Acknowledging the accolades, Raed comments: “I do not only celebrate the success in transforming the multitude of concepts into inventions, and conceiving technologies and product features that have the potential to generate significant value for Saudi Aramco, as there are other aspects that are most worthy of celebration. I celebrate having been, and continuing to be, blessed with numerous ingenious colleagues, mentees, co-inventors, teammates, scientists, engineers, lab technicians, commercial experts, and technical leaders. I celebrate the level of support which continues every day by a world class organisation that prioritises human capital, leading to innovation and delivery of ground breaking technologies based on disruptive Intellectual Property, and under the guidance of visionary corporate leaders.
“This has been an unforgettable journey and continues to be, with many memories and blessings, with a sense of pride in belonging to a highly esteemed organization that is an engine for innovation and value creation, and the fingerprints being left in driving people’s prosperity and growth around, throughout.”
Commenting on the UK Study Alumni Award, he added: “I’m beyond thrilled that I’ve been recognised with the prestigious UK Study Alumni Award (Saudi Arabia) 2024–2025—I believe a first for someone from Saudi Aramco. It’s an incredible honour to stand among an exceptional group of Saudi professionals who embody the transformative impact of UK-Saudi cooperation in education. This partnership invests in distinct talent—sending students to the UK, empowering them, and guiding them back to Saudi Arabia to drive innovation, progress, and global engagement. Deep gratitude also goes to the dedicated UK and Saudi government representatives. It’s a testament to how both governments, working hand-in-hand, have fostered education and cross-cultural exchange, paving the way for these remarkable success stories.
“This recognition further fuels my commitment to innovation and development, with the hope of continuing to make an impact—both nationally and across the globe. It also confirms what’s possible when the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia collaborate to nurture talent and champion education. May this be the catalyst for even greater innovation and engagement—both at home and around the globe.”
Raed acknowledges the role of the University and the Manchester experience in his career success: “I owe a great deal of my success to the intellectually stimulating environment and world-class mentorship I received in The University of Manchester which has equipped me with the knowledge and skills to innovate and make a meaningful impact.
“On a personal level, studying and living in Manchester groomed me a lot; the changing weather, being more self-reliant and running errands for my wife (also a student in Manchester, where she obtained an HNC, HND, BA, and Master’s in Human Resources Management), raising our first child there all helped build resilience and independence in ways I am still accustomed to, today.
“Studying at the University really gave me the space to learn how to conduct fundamental and applied research from scratch, with some mentoring and coaching but leading towards building my ability to be an independent researcher gathering resources and enhancing knowledge autonomously.
“The PhD was an uphill journey through hardships and needed perseverance. I had to build my own reaction rig including cutting and bending steel, with design and fabrication all the way to instrumentation and control components, and later to operate it for my experiments. I had never thought that I was the kind of person capable of doing this but being in Manchester revealed and sharpened these aspects of my character and ability.
“I was sponsored to study abroad and I chose Manchester because it is the birthplace of Chemical Engineering and I was hoping to make an impact upon returning to Saudi Arabia, so I could make a good living for myself and my then brand-new family. I did not expect the career journey I have enjoyed and which was largely the result of the skills and resilience I acquired from my stay in Manchester. I think the recipe for success is having a strong passion - for making a difference, for learning how to achieve this and the tools and skills needed, and for working with others - kindly, cooperatively, generously, synergistically. The result is - typically - a huge surprise at what is yielded by these passions - a true unlocking of unimaginable potential.”
Raed has maintained connections to Manchester, indirectly. Several of his colleagues and previous mentees at Saudi Aramco studied or worked there – and some of them were contemporaries alongside him in Manchester, during his PhD studies.
There’s clearly still a strong bond with the city: “Last summer, I took my then-13-year-old son to Manchester to witness the place he was born and where his parents acquired the knowledge that serves them well in their careers. He absolutely loed it and wants to go back!”
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