Khalid Hassanali

Khalid Hassanali, son of former President of Trinidad and Tobago, Noor Hassanali,^[1] is the president at Petrotrin. Khalid Hassanali has over 38 years of technical and leadership experience in the energy and industrial development sectors. As such he has developed an impressive array of competency in areas such as Leadership, General Management, International Marketing, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Negotiations and Mediation among others.

His educational achievements have served to complement his technical expertise as he graduated with a BSc. Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the West Indies in 1974 and went on to attain a Diploma in Engineering from Queen Mary College and an MSc. at the Distinction level, in Systems Planning and Optimisation from the University of London in 1975, where he completed his thesis in “Long Range Planning of Oil Refineries in Trinidad and Tobago”. He also earned a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) Degree from the University of London in 1994.

In December 1975, Hassanali joined Trinidad - Tesoro Petroleum Company Limited, a predecessor company, as a trainee engineer. Over the years, he expanded his expertise and held some twenty-eight (28) positions within the organization which include Production Superintendent Marine, Senior Projects Engineer, Chief Engineer Trinmar, Manager Strategic Planning, Corporate Support Administrator, Corporate Planning Manager, Vice President Corporate Administrative Services, Vice President Planning and Technology, Vice President Human Resource and Corporate Services and President (Acting).

In addition to his growth at Petrotrin, he has held many other distinguished posts including serving as First Vice President of the South Trinidad Chamber of Industry and Commerce. He served as a member of the Boards of Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation Ltd (PLIPDECO), Metal Industries Company Ltd. (MIC), NIHERST and ANSA McAL Chemicals Ltd and N.G.C. He has also been seconded on different occasions to Trinmar Ltd, the National Energy Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (NEC), the General Electric International Business Division and finally to Evolving TecKnologies Enterprise Development Co. Ltd (eTecK) where he served as a Vice President/General Manager and was later appointed President/CEO during the period 2005 to 2008. “In June 2012, Hassanali was elevated to the status of Fellow of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT).”

On August 7, 2016, an investigate report was published in the daily Express newspaper detailing million dollar unauthorized pay increases and benefits for top executives at Petrotrin including Khalid Hassanali. These pay increases were granted in direct breach of the guiding State Enterprise Performance Monitoring Manual (SEPMM) and without the approval of the Board of Directors.

The backdated payouts made at a time of mounting billion-dollar dollar losses, outstanding wage negotiations and a sharp drop in oil prices boosted the Pension benefits of all four outgoing executives - Khallid Hassanali, Keith Ramnath (VP Human Resources and Corporate Services), Jamaludin Khan (VP Exploration and Production) and Kenneth Allum (former President).

On May 22, 2015, the former Petrotrin chairman and government minister jacked up the final month's base pay of the two former top executives, Allum and Hassanali from $152,000 a month to $197,000 and awarded Hassanali a performance bonus of $912,000 without the requisite Board of Directors or government approval.

Hassanali, whose two-year contract was signed off on October 16, 2015 - two weeks before it expired, benefited from the backdated hike in his final salary which saw his pension benefits go up by a whopping $4.274 million. The adjustment in final pay before retirement allowed the ex-president who has 37 years service under his belt, to receive an $4.724 million is pension benefits for a contribution of just $1,824 to the company's pension plan .^[2]

Hassanali has three children, Behzad, Faria Hassanali-Badaloo, and Aadam with his wife Rianna.^[3]

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