Governing Body Spotlight

As Executive Vice President, Technology at Shamal Holding, I lead the Group’s technology and cybersecurity strategy, driving digital capabilities across a diverse portfolio of investments. With over 27 years of experience as a technology leader, I bring a proven ability to translate complex strategies into practical, value-driven outcomes, enabling organisations to adapt, innovate and thrive in rapidly evolving markets.

A fun fact about me: Despite leading technology for years, I still take all my notes with pen and paper. It’s my one rebellion against the digital world.

Learn more about the Middle East CIO community here.
 

Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.

Having spent nearly two decades in consulting and professional services, delivering value to several industry-leading clients worldwide, I reached a point where I wanted to challenge myself beyond my comfort zone. Nine years ago, I seized the opportunity to move to the client side of the table, taking on the responsibility of leading technology during the pre-opening phase of the region’s largest entertainment destination. Following that, I transitioned into a role within its parent company, where I also oversaw shared technology services for Shamal Holding. This journey ultimately led me to my current position, where I’ve spent the past two and a half years shaping and executing the Group’s digital transformation strategy.
 

What is one of your guiding leadership principles?

One of my guiding leadership principles comes from a constant restlessness to make technology a strategic enabler of business value rather than merely a support function. This drives me to consistently champion digital acceleration across the organisations I serve, with a conscious focus on ensuring that technology contributes meaningfully to transformation and delivers measurable impact.
 

What is the greatest challenge CIOs face today, and how are you addressing it?

One of the most significant challenges I face is shifting the mindset from technology delivering solutions to the business, to one where business and technology co-create outcomes together. This means helping business leaders take ownership of how technology addresses their most compelling challenges, while ensuring the technology function brings the right capabilities, insights, and innovation to the table. It’s about building a digital-first culture where adoption is not an afterthought but a shared responsibility. To enable this, I’ve focused on driving co-creation, aligning business priorities, embedding targeted capability-building, and ensuring our teams deliver outcomes that are both impactful and sustainable.
 

What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CIO?

For any C-level role in technology today, a growth mindset is a key enabler. It requires a passion for continually upskilling in emerging technologies and leadership capabilities, alongside strong stakeholder management skills. Success comes from engaging stakeholders to co-create products and solutions that address the most compelling business challenges, creating a differential advantage that drives growth.
 

How do you measure success as a leader?

Success as a leader is measured by how you will be remembered when you have moved on. For me, that means building strong succession by developing new leaders who are ready and valued to take over my role, creating high-performing teams that evolve with changing technology needs and assume greater responsibilities, and delivering lasting technology outcomes that continue to make an impact long after my tenure.
 

What is the value of being a member of Gartner C-level Communities?

The value of being a member of a Gartner C-level community lies in access to a cohort of like-minded technology leaders who bring a wealth of experience to share and learn from. It also offers the ability to leverage Gartner’s extensive research to shape and pivot technology initiatives within my organisation, aligning them to global benchmarks and best practices, and ensuring the technology agenda drives meaningful business impact. In turn, Gartner benefits from the collective experience and perspectives of its members, which help enrich its research, strengthen its insights, and keep the community continuously evolving.
 

Gartner C-level Communities Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.