Saudi Arabia has named Yasir al-Rumayyan, Head of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, as the Chairman of Saudi Aramco. Al-Rumayyan replaces Khalid Al-Falih, who has been Chairman of Aramco since 2015. The move comes as the government prepares for an IPO of the state-owned oil company

The appointment of Al-Rumayyan, already an Aramco board member and a key adviser to powerful Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, will separate the Ministry of Energy from Aramco and avoid conflicts of interest as the company prepares for the upcoming initial public offering.

The move to split oversight of Aramco from the Energy Ministry ends decades of tradition and further reduces Al-Falih’s portfolio after he lost the industry and mining functions in a government reshuffle on Friday. It also highlights the growing importance of the Public Investment Fund, which is set to receive proceeds from the Aramco IPO to reinvest both inside and outside the kingdom.

Al-Falih remains minister of energy and head of the Saudi delegation at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), where he has been instrumental in forging an alliance with Russia to limit global crude oil production. Last week, a new Ministry of Industry and Minerals was set up, removing those sectors from his former portfolio.

In addition to his current role as the Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Al-Rumayyan also sits on the boards of the state oil firm Saudi Aramco, the US transportation network company Uber Technologies Inc., and the Japanese multinational SoftBank Group.

Image Credits: The National