RIYADH: Walid Abukhaled is the CEO of Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a leading Saudi manufacturer and service provider in the fields of aeronautics, land systems, weapons and missiles, and defense electronics.
His appointment, on April 23, 2020, was made in recognition of his “in-depth knowledge and almost three decades of distinguished career in the military industries,” according to the company’s website. He succeeded Andreas Schwer, who had held the position since January 2018.
Abukhaled gained his corporate experience through a succession of prominent executive positions, including spells as CEO for the Middle East at Northrop Grumman; president and CEO of General Electric in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain; and chairman of the Operations Board and director of the Strategic Investments Group at BAE Systems in the UK and Saudi Arabia, among others. He also served as deputy minister of industrial affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry
As CEO of SAMI, Abukhaled leads the management of the company’s operational business and its mission to achieve its stated objective “to provide world-class military products and services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its allies,” while contributing to efforts to localize 50 percent of total government military spending in the Kingdom.
He defines his personal goal as “managing a respected company and leading it to be the benchmark globally … and setting the strategy for growth and prosperity to enable the organization to maximize its profit and shareholders’ value and to build on its reputation.”
Abukhaled holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and management systems engineering from the University of South Florida. While serving as CEO of SAMI he also maintains his positions as director of the board of the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company, also known as Dussur; vice chairman of the board of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems Arabia; and a member of Northrop Grumman Council for Diversity and Inclusion.
He has received several prestigious awards and accolades, including being ranked in the Top 3 Revolutionary CEOs in the Middle East in 2011, Saudi CEO of the Year in 2015, and Middle East CEO Thought Leader of the Year 2018.
