Six key figures developing real estate projects in the kingdom: Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud, Karim Jabbour, Ghassan al-Sulaiman, Fahd al-Rasheed, Abdullatif al-Shalash and Essam Kalthoum
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud
Position: Chairman, Kingdom Holding
Biography: The nephew of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and grandson of Saudi Arabia’s founder King Abdulaziz al-Saud, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud is chairman of Saudi conglomerate Kingdom Holding. The firm is reviewing bids for its 1-kilometre tall Kingdom Tower, which will form the centrepiece of the SR100bn ($26bn) Kingdom City, one of the largest projects in the country. If completed, the tower will surpass the world’s tallest building, the 818-metre Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Kingdom Holding built Saudi Arabia’s current tallest building, the Kingdom Centre in Riyadh. It is also planning a $7bn multi-purpose scheme in the outskirts of Riyadh. Prince Alwaleed graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the US’ Menlo College in 1979, and has a master’s degree in social sciences from Syracuse University, also in the US.
Contact Tel: (+966) 1 211 1111
Karim Jabbour
Position:Chief executive officer (CEO), The Land Holding
Biography:After graduating with a degree in civil engineering from the American University in Beirut, Karim Jabbour worked for Greece’s Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) on projects, including Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s onshore development in the UAE, and the Masila Export project in Yemen. In 1996, Jabbour joined Batim Africa Holding, a subsidiary of France’s Group Colina as chief operating officer, and was later promoted to CEO. In 2006, Jabbour joined Riyadh-based Al-Rahji International Holding Group for Investment before taking up the role of CEO with The Land Holding. Its real estate arm, The Land Saudi Arabia was established in November 2007. The firm’s major development is the $2.3bn Ajmakan project in Al-Khozama on the outskirts of Riyadh. The firm also has projects in Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain.
Contact Tel: (+966) 1 419 3232
Ghassan al-Sulaiman
Position:Chairman, City Centre Development Company (CCDC)
Biography:Ghassan al-Sulaiman is the chairman of CCDC, which is undertaking the $8bn project to redevelop Jeddah City Centre. Al-Suleiman is also chairman of investment firm, Siraj Capital. He previously served as chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce, the Jeddah Marketing Board and the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the board of directors of local firms, Savola Company and Arabian Cement Company, and a member of the economic development committee of the Jeddah province council. Al-Sulaiman owns the furniture store, Ikea Saudi Arabia. Al-Sulaiman has a master’s degree in business administration from the University of San Francisco in the US, and a doctorate in business administration from the UK’s Hull University. Al-Sulaiman is also a lecturer at the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.
Contact Tel: (+966) 2 652 9620
Fahd al-Rasheed
Position: CEO, Emaar, The Economic City (Emaar EC)
Biography:Fahd al-Rasheed is CEO of Emaar EC, which is developing the King Abdullah Economic City (Kaec) on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast. Previously, he was deputy governor at state-funded Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), which set up the Economic Cities Agency to oversee the kingdom’s economic cities development model. Prior to his appointment as deputy governor, Al-Rasheed was chief financial officer at Sagia. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington University in the US, and a master’s in business administration from Stanford Business School, also in the US. Prior to joining Sagia, Al-Rasheed worked for Saudi Aramco in its finance department. The 168 square-kilometre Kaec project is the first of five economic cities under development by Sagia. Al-Rasheed also sits on the board of Emaar EC.
Contact Tel: (+966) 2 615 9999
Abdullatif al-Shalash
Position:Managing director, Dar al-Arkan Real Estate Development Company
Biography: Dar al-Arkan Real Estate Development Company is a Saudi Arabia-based public shareholding company and the largest property developer in the kingdom by market value. Abdullatif al-Shalash is its managing director and he also sits on the board of the company. Al-Shalash has a master’s degree in business administration from Findlay University in the US and a bachelor’s of science degree in organisation leadership and supervision from Purdue University, also in the US. Al-Shalash is a founding investor at Unicorn Investment Bank, an Islamic financial services group, which was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Bahrain. Dar al-Arkan’s projects include Shams Al-Arous, a residential project in the east of Jeddah city, Al-Qasr Project, a residential project located in Riyadh, and Al-Tilal Project, a residential scheme located in Al-Madinah al-Munorah. .
Contact Tel: (+966) 1 206 9888
Essam Kalthoum
Position: CEO, Al-Shamiyah Urban Development Company (AUDC)
Biography: As head of the AUDC since 2007, Essam Kalthoum is responsible for one of Mecca’s largest real estate projects – the $9.3bn Al-Shamiyah project. Prior to this, from December 1999 to May 2004, Kalthoum was deputy director general at the Royal Commission’s Yanbu Industrial City. Before this, Kalthoum worked as CEO of National Titanium Dioxide Company in Jeddah between 1996-2000. He graduated in 1981 with bachelor’s of science degree in civil engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals. The Al-Shamiyah scheme is one of several mega developments planned in the holy city to cope with the rising number of pilgrims. Located north of the Haram mosque, the Al-Shamiyah development will include hotels, residential apartments and commercial centres.
Contact Tel: (+966) 2 699 2490
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