Ahmed Al-Suwailem has been CEO of the National Center for Non-Profit Sector since 2022. He has over 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors, specializing in economics, trade, finance, and banking.

Al-Suwailem is responsible for developing the Kingdom’s non-profit sector, expanding its impact on social and economic development, and integrating government efforts in licensing, financial supervision, and coordination.

Prior to his current position, Al-Suwailem, at various times, served as CEO of the National Anti-Commercial Concealment Program at the Saudi Ministry of Commerce; as adviser to the Saudi Minister of Commerce; and as secretary general of the Riyadh Chamber.  

He has also been head of management information systems in financial planning and control at Saudi Investment Bank, and executive vice president of financial control at Gulf International Bank.

Al-Suwailem currently also serves as managing director and board member at the Riyadh International Exhibition Center and is a board member of the General Authority for Awqaf and the Associations Support Fund, a trustee of the Riyadh Economic Forum, and a member of the executive committee for remuneration and compensation at the Riyadh Chamber.

Al-Suwailem holds a master’s degree in finance from George Washington University in the US and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.

He is a certified management accountant and public accountant and holds a certificate in international financial reporting standards and accreditation in exhibition and conference management from the International Association of Exhibitions and Events.

RIYADH: The National Olympiad for Programming and Artificial Intelligence (ATHKA) concluded on Saturday.
The event, organized over several months by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, in partnership with the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) and the Ministry of Education was intended to “nurture a promising generation of Saudi school students from intermediate and secondary levels, totaling about 3 million across various regions and governorates of the Kingdom, in the fields of programming and artificial intelligence,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The SPA added that the event also “aims to enhance the global competitiveness of this generation to help achieve the objectives of the Human Capacity Development Program, (part of) Saudi Vision 2030.”
Saudi Minister of Education Yousef Al-Benyan; chairman of the board of directors of the Education and Training Evaluation Commission, Dr. Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Sabti; president of SDAIA, Abdullah Al-Ghamdi; and the secretary-general of Mawhiba, Amal Al-Hazzaa, along with several officials from the fields of education and academia, a select group of AI specialists, and parents of the students, attended the event at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
Yaser Al-Onaizan, CEO of the National Center for Artificial Intelligence at SDAIA, delivered a presentation on AI and its role in developing human capabilities at the event. He noted that the human element is key to AI, and said that today’s students will become experts in new technologies faster than ever due to the ample learning and training opportunities in AI.
The final round of the competition was held from April 23 to 27 in Riyadh. Five students from the secondary level and five students from the intermediate level were awarded gold medals in the Olympiad. Eleven students from the secondary level and 10 from the intermediate level received silver medals, while 19 secondary students and 20 intermediate students earned bronze.
A total of 298 students competed in the final stage after qualifying from a pool of 260,000 Saudi students from across the Kingdom.
The Olympiad was designed to find “outstanding school students skilled in computational thinking to analyze and solve algorithmic programming challenges,” according to the SPA. “This step would help them enter the field of AI and encourage them to develop computational thinking skills, design AI-based algorithms, and recognize these skills as essential for learning in the 21st century.”
Its goals also included, the SPA reported, “harnessing young students’ intellectual abilities to solve complex problems, fostering a knowledge-based economy, promoting competitive programming, and cultivating a generation capable of excelling in international Olympiads in informatics and AI. Additionally, it aimed to build and strengthen the next generation’s skills in advanced technology, including AI-related fields.”