YLAB Town Hall
YLAB Town Hall
CEO offers peek into company’s future and the youth’s role.
In a Town Hall meeting with Aramco’s young employees, president and CEO Amin Nasser shared his insights into the strategic challenges and the company’s future plans, as well as personal thoughts about leadership and resilience from his long career with Aramco.
The gathering was held at the Plaza Center, is the flagship event for YLAB Anniversary Week, a weeklong celebration of YLAB’s 10-year anniversary. Attendees at Plaza Conference Center and Ghawar Hall, representing more than 60% of the company’s employees under the age of 35, participated in the town hall meeting, either in person or remotely. Nasser fielded a wide range of questions from the participants, about the company, global development and his personal life.
Bright future
The company’s long-term strategies and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis have prepared Aramco well for a future that is focused on new areas of growth, sustainability and talent, Nasser told attendees.
“It has been a very challenging time for the energy industry and the world, but I believe the worst is now behind us,” Nasser said.
Leadership insights
In his interactions with young employees during the Town Hall meeting, Nasser shared some of his own experiences that shaped his views on leadership. Good leaders create and cultivate good teams, Nasser said, and they embrace challenges as opportunities to become stronger and more effective.
“In your career, you will face obstacles – but these obstacles will make you stronger,” Nasser said. Leaders who trust in the talent of their team members and who draw upon an inner resilience are leaders who can have the most impact, he added.
I would say that resilience is key. Life isn’t always rosy. You need to adjust and adapt to change and avoid taking things personally. If I had taken things personally or reacted negatively to feedback during my career, I believe it would have taken a very different path.
— Amin Nasser
Digital wellbeing
While Nasser applauded the ways in which new technologies have contributed to development, he also cautioned against the addictive nature of lives lived increasingly online.
“When people ask me, ‘What keeps me up at night?’ they expect me to say something related to business. But what concerns me is our digital wellbeing. Because of all of us, but especially the youth, can be negatively impacted by endless emersion in technology, and begin to lose touch with what is most essential.
“The Covid pandemic has shown the importance of one-to-one and in-person conversations and the need to keep in touch,” Nasser said. “We need to keep the human touch that connects us, and I am worried about the impact on society if we move away from that.”
Join YLAB
One way that the youth can prepare themselves to meet the company’s challenges while accelerating personal growth and effectiveness is to contribute to various company organizations such as YLAB, Nasser said.
When asked by a participant how he sees the future, Nasser said that the company’s future is bright, because it will be created by what he views as the company’s greatest asset, its young employees.
“The company’s greatest accomplishment is the talent we have created,” Nasser said. Young people now make up the majority of the workforce, and that means Aramco can tap into the energy and intelligence of a younger generation that is well prepared for the challenges ahead.
Nasser added that Aramco will require hard work and resilience from its younger employees, but given the talent and engagement that Millennial and Gen Y employees have shown thus far, they are more than equal to the challenges they will face.
“If you ask me, I would say that resilience is key. Life isn’t always rosy. You need to adjust and adapt to change and avoid taking things personally. If I had taken things personally or reacted negatively to feedback during my career, I believe it would have taken a very different path.”
“At the end of the day, if you are talented, you are going to play a part in the success of your team.”
