Executive Vice Chairman of Alkholi Group

In a country which has experienced extreme wealth over the last 40 years, it remains quite incredible what we have been able to achieve in such a short period of history. Yet leading up to this era of modernization of the Kingdom I fear a lot of cultural values which had preceded this brief history to be lost in the midst of this revolution. For the millennia that preceded this era the people of this desert lived in some of the harshest conditions on the planet yet survived and thrived by living a simple, humble and sustainable way of life; nothing was wasted. The reward was the earth paid back these custodians of the lands with a commodity that helped fuel global economies and fast track modernization and industrialization.

As we continue to modernize and become more connected with the world, we cannot lose the precious values and culture build over centuries. I have recently been promoted to a position of significant responsibility and accountability, with that comes a great deal of social responsibility. Understanding how to leverage this power into something that is sustainable and environmentally responsible shall be my greatest challenge yet. A significant amount of our operations deal with waste and we have instilled many initiatives to recycle and limit and repurpose waste, yet I feel we have yet to scratch the surface of what needs to be done. My mission will be to learn from my peers and forums on how to harness this responsibility and drive and implement sustainable development in as many ways possible within our organization and beyond.