A Week in Saudi Arabia Showed Me a Country Building Its Future at Unprecedented Speed

When you travel across Saudi Arabia today—from the diplomatic halls of Riyadh to the industrial heart of Dammam to the global gateway of Jeddah—you quickly understand that the Kingdom is not merely transforming. It is accelerating into the future with a level of coordination, confidence, and ambition rarely seen anywhere else in the world.

This week I had the privilege of joining a U.S. trade delegation alongside my colleagues, Managing Directors Joseph Berger and Maged Mostafa of Guideline.ai. Across four days and three cities, we met with dozens of the Kingdom’s most influential leaders—investors, founders, family offices, industrial executives, and global brands. What we witnessed was a country reshaping itself at breathtaking speed.

Much of this momentum is the direct result of the vision set by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose Vision 2030 agenda has catalyzed one of the most ambitious economic and social transformations of the twenty-first century.

Riyadh

Our mission began in Riyadh, the beating heart of Vision 2030’s reforms and a capital city experiencing rapid modernization and global engagement. Meetings opened with senior figures such as Abdulaziz Albassam of Aljomaih Holding, Maxwell Andrews and Erich Phillips of AmCham Saudi Arabia, Alex Salzman of BLD Holdings, Ryan Cannon and Turki Alshagroud of Capital Entertainment, and Hisham Koshak, CEO of HAYKALAH Financial.

One of the most memorable conversations in Riyadh was with Dr. Khaled Al-Yahya, a leading figure in the world of consulting, research, and public-sector transformation. Few individuals articulate the intellectual backbone of Vision 2030 as clearly as Dr. Al-Yahya. His depth of knowledge, strategic insight, and ability to translate policy into practical economic outcomes make him one of the Kingdom’s most influential thinkers.

We also met dynamic founders including Hassan Ikram and Hamza Ikram of Cotyledon; innovators such as Mohamed Elbeheiry and Alaa Hussain of EyeGo; and the leadership of GloVentures—Eyad Bakhsh, Managing Partner, and Ahmed Osilan, Chairman. I stayed after our formal session to spend additional time with Mr. Osilan, whom I have known for many years. He represents the next generation of Saudi leaders whom Vision 2030 has empowered—globally minded, entrepreneurial, and committed to building a world-class economic future for the Kingdom.

The day concluded with a reception organized by the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh’s Commercial Affairs office, whose professionalism and support were essential to the mission’s success.

Dammam

From Riyadh, we traveled east to Dammam, where the industrial backbone of Saudi Arabia continues to evolve in line with Vision 2030’s diversification goals. A particularly insightful engagement was with Joe Harmoush, a respected business leader whose understanding of economic diversification and private-sector modernization is exceptional. His work reflects the forward-leaning leadership driving much of the Kingdom’s transformation.

One of the most impactful institutional visits was with HAKA Group, one of the Eastern Province’s most respected conglomerates. We spent meaningful time with Mr. Al Gahtani, an executive whose leadership and long-term strategic clarity resonated deeply with our delegation. Mr. Al Gahtani reflects the spirit of Vision 2030—disciplined in execution, global in perspective, and committed to elevating Saudi industrial capabilities to world-class levels.

We also engaged leaders such as Hamad M. Alomar, Chairman of HMO Healthcare; Abdul Rahman Ashraf, CEO of Duneway Global; Nishad Valthodika of Analytix Arabia; Sadek Alshouli of Dal Arabia; and Awatif Alotaibi, Chief Business Development Officer at IKK Group. Executives like Ahmed Alkharraz of Intracs, Maram Khalaf of Ethmar Construction, and Effect Advisory’s leaders—Tameem and Raed Alrahmah—offered valuable insights into the region’s rapid movement toward advanced manufacturing and logistics modernization.

The day concluded with a reception organized by U.S. Consul General James Sindle, whose engagement demonstrated a strong commitment to strengthening ties across the Eastern Province.

Jeddah

Our final stop brought us west to Jeddah, a city whose history, diversity, and global connectivity make it a strategic pillar of Vision 2030’s economic aspirations. At the Jeddah Hilton, we met with senior leaders including Waleed Abdulrazzag Bindawood and Ahmad Bindawood of BinDawood Holding; Matteo Beneduce and Tahir Al-Dabbagh of Naghi Group; Mohammed Basaffar, CEO of Basaffar Group; Yaser Binmahfouz, Chairman of Sedco; Khaled Bashuwaier of Rabihat Group; and Youssef Elsayed, CEO of PV Hardware Middle East.

A notable meeting was with MBL Group, where we spent meaningful time with Mohammed Ghalib BinLadin, an impressive emerging director. He represents the new generation of Saudi private-sector leadership—globally engaged, entrepreneurial, and focused on driving diversification while building on long-established family legacies.

The mission concluded with a reception organized by U.S. Consul General Rafik Mansour, whose engagement underscored the importance of deepening commercial and cultural ties.

A Kingdom Rising—and Ready to Partner

Across Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah, a few truths became clear. Vision 2030 is not a slogan; it is an operating system guiding an entire nation’s transformation. Saudi Arabia’s next generation of leaders is exceptional—globally minded, ambitious, and prepared to carry the Kingdom into the future envisioned by the Crown Prince. Diplomatic partnerships matter, and the coordination from the U.S. Embassy and Consulates significantly elevated the mission’s impact.

Guideline.ai’s Role in the Kingdom’s Growth Story

As representatives of Guideline.ai, my colleagues Joseph, Maged, and I were honored to participate in this mission. Guideline.ai is a global media-intelligence and advertising-data platform used by major brands, agencies, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, and family offices. Our technology provides real-time clarity into sector-level advertising activity, competitive spending strategies, consumer-demand indicators, and market momentum.

As Saudi Arabia continues its economic diversification and invests in modern media, advertising, and capital-markets capabilities, we aim to support this progress by offering the transparency and intelligence needed for world-class decision-making. For the advertising ecosystem, we help brands optimize media, agencies benchmark performance, and media owners understand shifts in demand. For investors—sovereign funds, private equity firms, hedge funds, and family offices—we provide leading indicators of sector strength, competitive movement, and consumer demand.

Our mission is simple: to support the Kingdom’s transformation and contribute, in our own way, to the future envisioned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince under Vision 2030.