RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) has announced the formation of the company’s board of directors, chaired by Ahmed Al-Khatib, as well as appointing Andreas Schwer as chief executive for his solid experience in establishing and managing global defense companies.
“I am honored to chair this new national company, which will play a key role in diversifying the country’s economy according to Vision 2030,” Al-Khatib said.
The company’s board of directors includes Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, a senior adviser to the Saudi ambassador to the US, in addition to three international experts who will join the board of directors at a later date.
SAMI’s appointment of government officials to its board as well as experts from diverse backgrounds highlights its commitment to localizing 50 percent of the country’s military expenditure by 2030, thus creating more job opportunities for Saudi citizens.
Schwer, who will join SAMI in December 2017, is the chairman and CEO of Rheinmetall International, which employs 6,000 people with revenues of $1.5 billion. Before joining Rheinmetall he held several senior executive positions at Airbus.
SAMI aims to create 40,000 jobs and contribute SR14 billion ($3.7 billion) to the Saudi economy by 2030.
SAMI also signed an MoU with Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport to buy S-400 surface-to-air missile systems and other weapons during a recent visit to Moscow by Saudi King Salman.
SAMI has recently signed memoranda of understanding with a number of the world’s largest defense contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics and Rosoboronexport.
The company is following a clear strategy that supports its goal to become one of the world’s largest 25 defense companies by 2030.