Middle East Paper Company has appointed Talal Faraj Arkook as Chief Human Resources Officer, filling a senior role at the Tadawul listed manufacturer that had been vacant since its previous group human resources chief stepped down last year.
The appointment was reported on 25 August 2026 and takes effect immediately. Arkook succeeds Maan Fatani, who had served as Group Chief Human Resources Officer and Vice President of Human Resources and Shared Services before departing in 2025.
Twenty four years across Saudi consumer and industrial employers
Arkook brings more than 24 years of human resources experience built almost entirely inside large Saudi employers. He joins from NADEC Foods, where he was Human Resources Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer.
Before NADEC he spent five years as Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Basamh Trading and Industries Group. His earlier career includes senior roles at Nahdi Medical Company, where he was Senior Director of Human Resources and earlier Human Resources Director covering organisational development, talent planning and sourcing, and at Panda Retail Company, part of Savola Group.
The through line is workforce scale. NADEC, Basamh, Nahdi and Panda are all large headcount Saudi employers with significant frontline and distribution workforces, which is a closer match to a paper manufacturer operating industrial sites than a corporate human resources background would be.
Why the role matters at MEPCO
Middle East Paper Company manufactures containerboard and tissue products and is listed on the Saudi Exchange. For a listed industrial business, the human resources function carries obligations that go beyond recruitment. Saudisation targets are enforced through the Nitaqat framework and apply at company level, and industrial operators face them against a labour pool that has historically favoured office based employment.
Leaving the top human resources post unfilled for an extended period is therefore a live governance question for a listed manufacturer, and the appointment closes it. The company said the role is effective immediately, which suggests the appointment was made to end the gap rather than to phase in a transition.
Succession context
The predecessor departure and the interval before this appointment are the notable governance detail. Companies on the Saudi Exchange have come under steadily closer scrutiny on executive continuity, and an extended vacancy in a named executive role is the kind of item that draws attention in annual disclosure.
MEPCO has not disclosed the reporting line for the role or whether the mandate includes a specific Saudisation or workforce localisation target.
