Awad Al-Sulami was appointed as executive vice president of economic policies and logistics services at the General Authority of Civil Aviation in March this year.
Prior to this, he served as an advisor to the president and later vice president of logistics and special economic zones at the authority.
Al-Sulami began his logistics career at Saudia Cargo in 2007 and has since served in various leadership roles in the public and private sectors.
In his current role, Al-Sulami is leading the restructuring of the aviation sector and also oversees regulatory reforms to enable the growth of a competitive aviation ecosystem that attracts investment.
During his tenure at the authority, Al-Sulami led the launch of the Riyadh Integrated Special Logistics Zone, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, and designed its regulations, by-laws, incentives schemes, and operating model.
Al-Sulami has also spearheaded the restructuring of the air cargo and logistics ecosystem at Saudi airports by enhancing governance mechanisms, increasing quality of services, and enacting regulatory reforms to enable fair competition in the market.
He was appointed as acting CEO and board member in October 2022 and April 2021, respectively, at the Special Integrated Logistics Zone Company, which is the operator and master developer of the Riyadh Integrated Special Logistics Zone. He developed and implemented the strategic direction of the company, ensuring its financial and operational success.
Prior to his tenure at the authority, Al-Sulami worked at the General Investment Authority (currently the Ministry of Investment) as the director of the aviation sector.
As director, he made significant contributions to the design and launch of strategic engagements for generating quality investment opportunities in the Kingdom, as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan. He also designed initiatives for the transport and logistics sector that contributed to the development of the Saudi Aviation Strategy and improvement of the National Transport and Logistics Strategy.
Prior to serving in the public sector, Al-Sulami held positions at Saudia Cargo as the executive director of commercial and business development in Jeddah and at Qatar Airways as the cargo manager.
Al-Sulami earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from King Abdulaziz University in 2013.
He also earned a certificate for completing the strategic management program at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a certificate for completing the supply chain management program at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
