FaceOf: Abdullah Al-Swaha, the Saudi minister of communications and information technology

Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha

• Al-Swaha holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and communications engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and degree in computer science from the University of Washington in Seattle

Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha has been the Saudi minister of communications and information technology since his appointment in April 2017 following a royal order. He succeeded Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Suwaiyel.
In addition to his ministerial post, he serves as chairman of the Communications and Information Technology Commission, chairman of Saudi Post and head of the National Executive Digitization Committee, as well as being a member of many boards.
Previously, he was the director-general of the digital transformation office at the Ministry of Economic and Planning. His responsibilities included expediting the realization of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 through digital infrastructure.
Al-Swaha also served as the chief executive officer of Cisco Saudi Arabia, which ranks fifth in Cisco’s global operations.
He held several positions at Cisco between 2005 and 2017; he was regional manager, then became operations manager, and most recently became vice president.
Al-Swaha holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and communications engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and degree in computer science from the University of Washington in Seattle.
He completed a number of programs in executive education at Harvard Business School and Duke University.
Al-Swaha is participating in the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh from Oct. 23-25, representing the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology.
He said that the communications and information technology market in the Kingdom is ranked 12th in the world, and it is an open market with promising investment opportunities.