The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) has formed an advisory board for the second edition of its annual Future Investment Initiative (FII), to be held in Riyadh on 23-25 October.

The advisory board members include:

• Mohamed Alabbar, founder and chairman, Emaar Properties (Dubai)
• Ajay Banga, president and CEO, Mastercard (US)
• Victor Chu, chairman and CEO, First Eastern Investment Group (Hong Kong)
• Mellody Hobson, president, Ariel Investments (US)
• Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO, Thrive Global (US)
• Joe Kaeser, president and CEO, Siemens (Germany)
• Lubna Olayan, CEO and deputy chairperson, Olayan Financing Company (Saudi Arabia)
• Stephen Schwarzman, CEO, Blackstone (US)
• Masayoshi Son, CEO, SoftBank Group (Japan)
• Tidjane Thiam, CEO, Credit Suisse Group (Switzerland)
• Peter Thiel, co-founder and partner, Founders Fund (US).

According to PIF, the conference’s next edition “will explore how investment can be used to drive growth opportunities, fuel innovation and shape future economies.”

MEED understands the inaugural event in 2017 saw over 3,800 participants from more than 90 countries join in the discussions to explore future developments in the world economy.

The programme for FII 2018 will include:

• Expert-led debates and discussions to explore the world’s most important economic trends;
• Three summits looking at new healthcare frontiers, immersive technologies and the urban future;
• Twelve cross-sector taskforces designed to explore emerging business and investment trends, and early-stage growth opportunities.