Pakistan State Oil Company Limited has officially announced the appointment of Jawwad Ahmed Cheema as its new Chief Executive Officer. According to a formal notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Cheema will take the helm for a three year tenure beginning May 18, 2026. This transition follows an interim period overseen by Abdus Sami, who took over temporary leadership duties. The decision was finalized during a high level board meeting conducted on April 11, 2026, marking a significant leadership shift for the country’s largest oil marketing company as it seeks to navigate the evolving energy landscape.
The vacancy at the top of Pakistan State Oil emerged after the previous Managing Director and CEO, Syed Taha, moved to a new role as the chief executive of K-Electric, the primary power utility provider for Karachi. The appointment of Cheema is seen as a strategic move to bring seasoned international expertise back to the state owned enterprise. With a career spanning over twenty eight years in the downstream energy sector, the incoming CEO is recognized as a distinguished executive with a track record of driving large scale organizational change and business turnarounds across diverse global markets.
Cheema’s professional journey is highlighted by a long and successful tenure with Royal Dutch Shell, where he spent twenty six years ascending through the ranks. His experience began in frontline retail operations within Pakistan before expanding into senior global leadership positions across Indonesia, Singapore, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. This international exposure allowed him to manage complex portfolios in the Asia-Pacific and European regions, covering critical areas such as lubricants, storage infrastructure, supply chain management, and international strategy.
Before this latest appointment, Cheema was instrumental in leading Shell Pakistan Limited as its CEO. In that capacity, he was credited with steering one of the most prominent publicly listed energy firms through significant operational transformations in what is often described as one of the region’s most challenging energy markets. His most recent role involved serving as the CEO of Karachi Hydrocarbon Terminal under the VTTI B.V. portfolio, where he managed the primary petroleum import and distribution terminal at Port Qasim, a vital node for the country’s fuel security.
Beyond his executive roles, Cheema has held influential governance positions that reinforce his deep connection to the national energy infrastructure. He previously served as the Chairman of the Board for Shell Pakistan Limited and held directorships on the boards of Pakistan Refinery Limited and the Pakistan Arab Pipeline Company. These roles provided him with a comprehensive view of the strategic nodes that define the domestic downstream sector. The PSO board emphasized that his combination of commercial sharpness and operational discipline makes him uniquely qualified to execute large scale strategies in a highly regulated and sensitive energy environment.
The transition comes at a time when the energy sector in Pakistan is facing pressure to modernize and improve supply chain efficiencies. Industry analysts expect that under Cheema’s leadership, Pakistan State Oil will focus on leveraging his global standards of governance to enhance its market position. As the company prepares for his official start date in May, the focus remains on ensuring a smooth handover from the interim management to maintain stability in the supply and distribution of petroleum products nationwide.
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