Who’s Who: Khaled Abbas, CEO of Gulf International Bank Saudi Arabia

Khaled Abbas
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Updated 13 August 2024
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Who’s Who: Khaled Abbas, CEO of Gulf International Bank Saudi Arabia

Khaled Abbas has been the CEO of Gulf International Bank Saudi Arabia since March 2024. He assumed the role with 27 years of banking experience across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.

Abbas has also served as a non-executive board member of GIB Capital, an investment banking and asset management business of the GIB Group, since July 2024.

Previously, he was the group wholesale banking head at GIB from 2019, with geographical coverage responsibilities across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, as well as the London and New York offices.

He also led the establishment of GIB’s branch in Oman.

Before joining GIB, Abbas held multiple senior roles at several regional banks. He was corporate banking regional head at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank from 2010 to 2018.

Before that, he served as assistant general manager leading a corporate banking unit of Samba Financial Group, where he worked from 2001 to 2010.

He started his professional career in the corporate banking division with Banque Saudi Fransi in 1997.

Abbas holds a bachelor’s degree in business studies with an emphasis on banking and finance from the Lebanese American University in Beirut.

He has completed several executive education management courses, including the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, the Leadership Development Program at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, and the Young Managers Program at INSEAD, France.

 

 


SDAIA president says Saudi Arabia is building an integrated AI ecosystem

Updated 20 February 2026
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SDAIA president says Saudi Arabia is building an integrated AI ecosystem

RIYADH: Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority President Abdullah Al-Ghamdi says that Saudi Arabia is moving steadily to establish artificial intelligence as a trusted national capability, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Guided by the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030, Al-Ghamdi said the goal is to use AI to help develop government services, enhance competitiveness, build human capacity and improve quality of life through a comprehensive strategy based on three main pillars that unlock the potential of this technology and achieve sustainable developmental impact.

“The first pillar focuses on building human capacity and enhancing readiness to engage with AI technologies,” he said.

The second pillar is building an integrated national AI ecosystem that drives expansion and innovation by developing advanced digital infrastructure that enables various sectors to adopt AI applications efficiently, consistently and with effective governance, Al-Ghamdi said.

The third pillar, he said, is governance that ensures responsible and measurable AI through a national framework aligned with international standards.

This came during Al-Ghamdi’s speech at a high-level ministerial session held on Thursday on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.

He is heading the Saudi delegation, and the session saw broad participation from heads of state, decision-makers and technology leaders from around the world.

Al-Ghamdi also had a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday evening, discussed AI cooperation and expressed his gratitude for hosting the summit and for the hospitality extended to the participants.