FaceOf: Ahmed Hamdan Al-Thenayan, a deputy minister at KSA’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

Ahmed Hamdan Al-Thenayan
Updated 28 November 2018
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FaceOf: Ahmed Hamdan Al-Thenayan, a deputy minister at KSA’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

  • Al-Thenayan has also been a member of the board of directors of the Saudi Intellectual Property Authority since March 2018
  • Al-Thenayan holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from King Saud University in Riyadh

Ahmed Hamdan Al-Thenayan has been deputy minister for technology and digital capacities at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology since December 2017. 

He has also been a member of the board of directors of the Saudi Intellectual Property Authority since March 2018. 

Al-Thenayan held several positions at Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) Co. between 2004 and 2015, including chief technology operations officer, senior executive vice president of corporate affairs, secretary to the Board Executive Risk Management Committee, and vice president of IT Operations. 

He was IT consultant at the Shoura Council and a part-time assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Information Sciences at Imam Mohammed Bin Saud University in Riyadh. 

In addition, he worked as a research assistant at NASA Langley Research Center between 1998 and 2000, and as a research assistant at Dominion University in Virginia in 1997 and 1998.

Al-Thenayan holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from King Saud University in Riyadh. He also holds a master’s and doctorate degrees in computer science from Dominion University. 

At the recent Saudi Forum for Emerging Companies, he announced that a campaign would be launched in cooperation with the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monsha’at) to support and develop the Hajj sector.

The forum, organized by Monsha’at, was held at the Ritz-Carlton in Jeddah.


Saudi defense chief rallies international support amid escalating Iranian strikes

Updated 21 min 31 sec ago
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Saudi defense chief rallies international support amid escalating Iranian strikes

  • Iran unleashes wave of drone strikes on Kingdom’s Eastern Province
  • Missiles fired at Prince Sultan Air Base intercepted, destroyed

RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held separate phone calls with his Turkish, Romanian, and South Korean counterparts as Iranian attacks on Gulf facilities continued on Thursday.

Iran escalated strikes on its Gulf neighbors in retaliation for ongoing US-Israeli attacks on Iranian territory. 

After a brief pause Wednesday, drone attacks on Saudi Arabia resumed at 9 p.m., targeting the Eastern Province and the Shaybah oil field in the Empty Quarter. All the drones were stopped, the Saudi Ministry of Defense confirmed.

Missiles aimed at Prince Sultan Air Base in Al-Kharj were also intercepted and shot down, the ministry added.

In his call with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Prince Khalid reaffirmed commitment to joint security measures and condemned Iranian aggression. 

His conversation with Romanian counterpart Radu Miruta covered regional threats to global stability. 

A call with South Korea’s Ahn Gyu-back similarly focused on condemning Iran’s actions and reviewing the broader regional picture.

The crisis traces back to February 28, when US and Israeli forces struck Iran. Tehran has since targeted Gulf states and US-Israeli assets across the region.

Iran has also declared a blockade on energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint for global oil and gas flows — sending commodity prices surging.