Voted for by readers of Pipeline magazine and you – the movers and shakers of the region's energy industry – the Oil Baron for 2010 is a man of great experience, probably known to most of you here this evening.
Born in North Wales in 1959, Kevin Robert grew up in a Welsh-speaking family of four. He began his career in England in 1975, working for Rolls Royce, undertaking a four year apprenticeship, which helped form a lifelong interest in engineering.
Visiting a friend in Aberdeen in 1981, he was introduced to the offshore diving industry, and from there came a career in commercial diving systems and diving support vessels. Like many Barons before him, his career took him all over the world, from the North Sea to South America, West Africa, Mediterranean, Far East, India, Middle East and ending up here in Dubai in 1989.
This was the year he decided to stay in Dubai, and launch a specialist marine and off shore hydraulic service company, based out of a small portacabin in Sharjah.
From these humble beginnings, he grew the company across the UAE and into Bahrain, Saudi, Qatar, Kuwait, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
His early years of working on vessels and rigs gave him great insight into what was needed to offer a dependable, safe and high quality service for the marine and off shore industry, an ethos that has ensured his company has grown into a well respected entity across the region today.
In the last two decades, he has expanded the business to other areas associated with the oil and gas industry such as specialised equipment rental, construction equipment, business real estate development and industrial gas production.
Having built such a strong business, Kevin Robert sold the company in 2009 and now runs the holding company focusing on new growth areas such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
