Chris McWilliams

Chris McWilliams (UAE) has worked in asset management, maintenance, engineering, and operational transformation for over 25 years across energy, mining, chemicals, and infrastructure. His experience spans upstream and downstream oil and gas, new energy, turnaround execution, and business process optimisation, with delivery across the Middle East, Caspian region, Europe, and Australia.

Chris began his career as a mechanical engineer before moving into asset management consultancy, building expertise across maintenance strategy, reliability, and operational governance. He has held senior roles at tier-one EPC contractors and specialist consultancies, working alongside supermajors and national oil companies on long-term asset performance programmes.

As an asset management consultant embedded across supermajor facilities in Central Asia and the Middle East, Chris led the implementation of structured maintenance build roadmaps — working at the interface of corporate standards and site-level operational reality.

Chris is the Founder of Operai, a Dubai-based decision intelligence consultancy helping asset-intensive organisations build the governance and data architecture that makes AI viable in maintenance environments.