RIYADH: The top senior executives in Saudi business must work together in close coordination to better understand each other’s priorities in the current disruptive digital environment, said
Matthew Kibby, Vice President Enterprise, Africa and Middle East atthe Sage, a British multinational enterprise software company headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Digital disruption is the change that occurs when new digital technologies and business models affect the value proposition of existing goods and services.
Kibby was speaking at a round table hosted here on Wednesday by the Sage Middle East in collaboration with leading industry analyst firm IDC to discuss best practices that bridge the increasingly interrelated functions of the Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Chief
Investment Officers (CIOs) as organizations ramp up the adoption of digital technologies
in the Kingdom Under Saudi Vision 2030.
Significantly, digital transformation is a key pillar of the Vision 2030, the national transformation road-map to reform and diversify Saudi economy, and develop various other sectors including health, construction, tourism and education. The event titled the “CFO-CIO Exchange: Building a framework for CFO-CIO collaboration in an era of digital disruption”, explored how technologies impact the CFO’s function, and how CIOs must increasingly collaborate with CFOs to develop business cases for the quick adoption of new technologies.
Speaking at the opening session Kibby said, "Saudi’s grand reform plan targeting the post-oil age will drive digital disruption and technological evolution for all industries in the Kingdom."
" As such, it is imperative that C-Suite business leaders understand and appreciate each other’s business priorities," he said said adding, " the finance function has to embrace digital transformation through big data and artificial intelligence (AI)."
Notably, C-Suite business leader refers to the seniors who get names from the titles of top executives which tend to start with the letter C for chief, as in Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), and Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Later speaking to Arab News on their priority and role in line with Vision 2030, Kibby said, " a key priority for us at Sage is to equip enterprises with smarter business software solutions, capable of intuitively helping organizations boost productivity and make better decisions based on
real-time data."
"For us it is very important that we have a valuable market presence in Saudi Arabia, we have a number of customers in the region, we really want to make sure that we are aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 that technology is going to assist in the achievements of local businesses with digital
transformation playing key role in national transformation program," he added.
He further pointed that there is a log list of new technologies which various organizations have started specializing in such as mobility, cloud computing, the internet of things (IoT), robotics, these types of technologies have started to become more and more mainstream and organizations started to impress with these technologies especially what they can deliver to reach expectations in line with Vision 2030.
He added that CFO holds the budget and is basically a business leader and CIO takes the technology decisions, they need to have a collaborative engagement model to the benefit of the organizations, which we are focusing on, it will also be helpful in parting the age gap as well as technology gap between the CFOs and CIOs.
In the second session there was a presentation on the newly introduced value-added tax (VAT), its implementation in the Kingdom and the impact it has had on businesses and industries in the GCC region.
Speaking about VAT and its business implications, Mansoor Sarwar, Director for Technical Services and Pre-Sales, Sage Middle East, said, " the GCC region is still in early stages
of the VAT regime, with only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) having implemented it this year.
The fresh introduction of duties in a region totally unfamiliar with taxes have been a challenge for CFOs, who need to balance performance, efficiency and risk, he added. Aligned with the digital transformation of the economy, CFOs should look to joint decision-making with CIOs, and use digital tools that can help automate most of the VAT process and drive productivity, he noted.
Later Kibby and Sarwar were joined by Ranjit Rajan, Associate Vice President for Research at IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa, Moazam A Shah, CFO, Al Zamil Group and Hassan Al-Bahes, Chairman of the Institute of Management (IMA,Riyadh Chapter) in a panel that discussed best practices for CFOs and CIOs that align their functions and drive excellence in performance.
Rajan, who earlier made a presentation on navigating digital transformation, moderated the
panel discussion.
The event was attended by about 100 business executives representing various industries.
Sage is the market and technology leader for integrated cloud accounting, payroll, and payment systems, supporting the ambition of entrepreneurs and business builders.
Saudi business heads must coordinate in disruptive digital environment, says tech leader
Saudi business heads must coordinate in disruptive digital environment, says tech leader
Threat to Kingdom’s security is ‘red line’ that will be ‘addressed and neutralized,’ Saudi envoy says
- Abdulaziz Alwasil tells UN Security Council the situation in southern Yemen is ‘a just cause with social and historic dimensions’ that can only be resolved through dialogue
- Recent military activity in the south was unilateral, resulting in an escalation that harms the interests of Yemeni people and undermines efforts to address issues in the south, he said
NEW YORK CITY: Any attempt to threaten Saudi Arabia’s national security is a “red line” and will be met with decisive action, the Kingdom’s ambassador to the UN told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Speaking during a meeting of the council to discuss Yemen, Abdulaziz Alwasil said the situation in the south of the country is “a just cause with social and historic dimensions” that can only be resolved through dialogue.
“We stress that any attempt to threaten our national security is a red line, and we will not hesitate to take the necessary actions and steps to address it and neutralize it,” he added.
Alwasil reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s support for Yemeni President Rashad Al-Alimi, the Presidential Leadership Council, and the Yemeni government in their efforts to achieve security, stability, development and peace while preserving national unity.
He said military activity by Southern Transitional Council forces in Hadramout and Al-Mahra on Dec. 2, 2025, was unilateral, did not have the approval of the Presidential Leadership Council, and was not carried out in coordination with the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.
It had resulted in an unjustified escalation that harmed the interests of the Yemeni people, undermined efforts to address the issues in the south, and ran counter to the coalition’s objectives, Alwasil added.
The Kingdom, working with its coalition partners, the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government, had moved to contain the situation by dispatching a military force to coordinate arrangements with the Southern Transitional Council in Aden, he said.
The aim was to ensure the return of the southern council’s forces to their previous positions outside of Hadramout and Al-Mahra, and the handover of camps to legitimate government forces and local authorities in line with agreed procedures, Alwasil added.
He expressed regret over the military operations that took place in Hadramout and Al-Mahra, close to Saudi Arabia’s southern border, which he said posed a direct threat to the Kingdom’s national security, as well as the security of Yemen and regional stability. Such steps were extremely dangerous, he added, and contradicted the principles on which the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen had been founded.
Alwasil welcomed a prisoner and detainee exchange agreement signed in Muscat on Dec. 23, which he described as an important humanitarian measure to alleviate suffering and build confidence.
He praised Oman for hosting and sponsoring the consultations and supporting negotiations, and commended the efforts of UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, the International Committee of the Red Cross and all others that has played a part.
Regarding the political efforts to resolve the crisis, Alwasil said Saudi Arabia welcomed President Al-Alimi’s call for an inclusive conference in Riyadh to bring together all stakeholders to discuss just solutions to the situation in southern Yemen.
Preparations for the conference have begun, he added, in cooperation with the Yemeni government and southern representatives, reflecting the close ties between the two countries and their shared interests in stabilizing Yemen.
He urged all southern stakeholders to participate actively and constructively in the talks, to help find comprehensive and just solutions that meet the legitimate aspirations of the people of southern Yemen.
Alwasil called on all Yemeni forces and stakeholders to cooperate and intensify their efforts to reach a lasting political settlement that would ensure security and stability.
He described the southern issue as “a just cause with social and historic dimensions,” adding that “the only way to address it is through dialogue that leads to a comprehensive political solution” based on nationally and internationally agreed terms of reference.
