# Charif Souki

> Charif Souki is a Lebanese American entrepreneur, Cheniere Energy co-founder and former chairman and CEO, and Tellurian co-founder and former executive chairman. His career spans investment banking, restaurants and the development of US LNG exports. He now chairs Ajax Holdings and Phoenix Energy, a private energy venture focused on American natural gas and its route to international markets.

- **Role:** Chairman at Ajax Holdings; Chairman at Phoenix Energy
- **Organizations:** Ajax Holdings, Phoenix Energy, Cheniere Energy (co-founder; former chairman and CEO), Tellurian (co-founder; former executive chairman), American University of Beirut (trustee), Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy (advisory board)
- **From:** Cairo, Egypt
- **Nationality:** Lebanese American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts, Colgate University, Master of Business Administration, Columbia University
- **Known for:** Received the 2020-2021 United States Energy Award, announced by USEA on September 29, 2021., Helped develop Cheniere’s shift from LNG imports to exports., Led Cheniere during development of Sabine Pass liquefaction and the start of Corpus Christi liquefaction construction.

## Career timeline

- **1953** — Born in Cairo, Egypt; exact birth date is not established.
- **1957** — Moved to Beirut, Lebanon.
- **Before 1996** — Worked in independent investment banking and invested in restaurants in Aspen and Los Angeles.
- **1996** — Co-founded Cheniere Energy, initially an oil-and-gas exploration business.
- **2002** — Became Cheniere CEO in December.
- **2008** — Cheniere placed the Sabine Pass LNG import regasification facility in service.
- **2010** — Cheniere announced plans to add liquefaction and export capabilities at Sabine Pass.
- **2012** — Cheniere began construction on the first two Sabine Pass liquefaction trains; Ajax Holdings was founded.
- **2015** — Cheniere replaced Souki as CEO in December.
- **2016** — Co-founded Tellurian with Martin Houston in February; Sabine Pass shipped its first export cargo on February 24, after his CEO tenure.
- **2020** — Named Tellurian executive chairman on June 22.
- **2023** — Tellurian terminated his employment without cause effective December 8.
- **2024** — Woodside acquired Tellurian in October and renamed the Driftwood development Woodside Louisiana LNG.
- **2025** — Phoenix Energy was reported acquiring Haynesville Shale drilling leases.
- **2026** — Discussed keeping Phoenix Energy private and using capacity at other LNG terminals.

## Achievements

- Received the 2020-2021 United States Energy Award, announced by USEA on September 29, 2021.
- Helped develop Cheniere’s shift from LNG imports to exports.
- Led Cheniere during development of Sabine Pass liquefaction and the start of Corpus Christi liquefaction construction.
- Co-founded Tellurian and advanced the Driftwood LNG development before its later acquisition by Woodside.
- The inaugural Charif Souki Global Energy Fellows cohort at Columbia comprised 20 graduate students.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — A September 11 Geometry Room interview featured Souki discussing energy markets and described him as working in the Haynesville Shale.
- **2026-07** — Energy Dialogues published a July 13 interview on Phoenix Energy’s feedgas, infrastructure and third-party terminal capacity model.
- **2026-05** — In a May 12 Bloomberg interview, Souki said he had no desire to take his latest venture public.

## Links

- Website: https://www.ajax-holdings.com/charif-souki

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/charif-souki
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-23