DUBAI: Jamaican eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt has been named as one of the star speakers lined up to take part in a major Saudi investment and innovators conference.
The 34-year-old sprinter will be among 150 big names set to participate in the fourth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII).
The two-day event, which starts on Wednesday, will see Bolt join a discussion titled, “Playing to win: How will global investment drive the future of the sports industry?”
The athlete will be joined by Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture, and Heritage Dr. Amina Mohamed, Chairman of Formula E Alejandro Agag, and President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Jean Todt.
The theme for this year’s FII event will be “The Neo-Renaissance,” and due to travel restrictions as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, some speakers will attend in-person in Riyadh, while many more will participate virtually from hubs in New York, Paris, Beijing, and Mumbai.
Another speaker revealed in the latest list is Senator Matteo Renzi, former prime minister of Italy and a member of the FII Institute’s board of trustees.
A leadership session on Thursday will feature a discussion between Kevin Rudd, the former PM of Australia and Alberto Fernandez, the president of Argentina, with insights from Bruno Le Maire, the French minister of the economy, finance, and recovery.
Some of the top-name speakers announced last week included Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs Group David Solomon, Credit Suisse CEO Thomas Gottstein, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Total Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne, British Minister of State for International Trade Lord Gerry Grimstone, Hyperloop One Co-founder Josh Giegel, and Co-founder and Co-executive Chairman of The Carlyle Group David Rubenstein.
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Other speakers will be Saudi Public Investment Fund Gov. and FII Institute Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Co-chairman and Chief Information Officer of Bridgewater Associates Ray Dalio, Snam CEO Marco Alvarez, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Moelis and Co. Eric Cantor, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, and Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih.
In addition, delegates can expect to hear from Saudi Ambassador to the US Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan, Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Sinovation Ventures Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, Executive Chairman of Colony Capital Thomas Barrack, EDF CEO Jean-Bernard Levy, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, Blackstone Chairman, CEO, and Co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman, the former President of the COP21 Paris Agreement Laurent Fabius, CEO and Managing Director of Mubadala Investment Co. Khaldoon Al Mubarak, and Founder and Managing Partner of SkyBridge Capital and former White House Director of Communications Anthony Scaramucci.
