Plenary
Speakers

HE Dr. Majid Al-Moneef is the former Secretary General of the Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia, Governor of Saudi Arabia in the Board of Governors of OPEC, and its representative its Economic Commission Board.

He was the Chairman of the International Advisory Group of the King Abdullah Center for Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), president of the Saudi Economic Association, the Arab Energy Forum, and the Energy Group of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

He was also vice-dean and professor of economics at King Saud University, member of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council, the Board of Directors of Saudi Aramco, and the Board of Trustees of the Economic Research Forum (ERF).

Her Highness Princess Noura bint Turki Al-Saud is the Founding Partner of AEON strategy, a sustainability advisory firm based in Riyadh Saudi Arabia. She is also a Co-Founder of Aeon Collective, a cross disciplinary non-profit that advocates sustainable practices for inclusive and equitable development. She focuses on the topics of Energy and climate Policy and directs AEON’s socio-economic development and sustainability projects.

She holds a Masters Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs where she took an interdisciplinary approach to development and international cooperation. Her focus is on Urban & Social Policy, and later the politics and economics of Energy and Climate, as has a sub-specialization in Earth Sciences and holds a bachelors of Science in Business Administration.

Previously she held the role of assistant director and head of the Unit on Energy Studies at The King Faisal Center for Research, a think tank based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and had previous experience in international and multinational organizations. She also serves on the Advisory board of the King Abdullah University for Science and technology’s (KAUST) Circular Carbon Initiative, and as a board member of Albaydah development Society since 2012 and was a member of the IEA’s Energy Efficiency Industry Advisory Board.

Fahad Alajlan was appointed as the president of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) in August 2021. Prior to joining KAPSARC, Fahad was the director of the Hydrocarbon Sustainability Program at the Ministry of Energy. He was responsible for looking at the long-term energy trends and their impact on energy markets including global demand for oil and gas. Additionally, he oversees the Circular Carbon Economy National Program, which aims to utilize a comprehensive framework to manage emissions while furthering the socioeconomic development of the Kingdom.

Fahad also worked at the Ministry of Economy and Planning in Saudi Arabia, advising on energy markets, policy, and trends, as well as the industry and petrochemical sector.Before that, he served for more than 15 years at Saudi Aramco, where he held senior positions working across operation, corporate strategy and investment planning, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

He holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA from Stanford University in California.

Noura currently serves as a Senior International Policy Analyst in climate change and sustainability matters at the Ministry of Energy in Saudi Arabia. She is an international climate negotiator in various multilateral forums including, but not limited to, the United Nations and UNFCCC, covering matters related to mitigation, raising ambition and other cross-cutting topics.

At the ministry, she also works on coordinating the national-level efforts pertaining to energy, climate and emissions reduction under the umbrella of the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives. She has previous experience in G20 policy support during the Saudi presidency, strategy and policy consulting in labor market solutions, and political and foreign affairs. Noura holds an MSc in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and a BASc in Arts and Sciences: Societies with a focus on Politics & International Relations, and Psychology from University College London (UCL).

Dr. Raja M. Almarzoqi is the Chief Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Economic and Planning, faculty member in Economic Division at Prince Saud Alfaisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies, and expert at the IMF.

He was a president of Gulf Monetary Council (GMCO) and prior to this, an Advisor at the IMF, in Washington DC. In addition, Raja worked as a consultant to many government, private organizations, regional and international organizations including yjr World Bank, ARAMCO, General Investment Authority, Supreme Commission for Tourism, Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), Alkhabeer Capital and KACST. He has teaching/lecturing experience at King Saud University; MIT Sloan Management School; International Monetary Fund; Thunderbird Global Business School in several subjects in economics. Also, he was a board member in several organizations and funds.

Mr Almarzoqi is specialized in policy modeling for macroeconomic impact assessment, money and banking and international finance. He has presented research papers at major local and international conferences and published papers in major Middle East journals and books. He holds a B.A. from King Saud University in economics, M.A. from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in Quantitative economics and Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater in economics and finance.

Completed her degree in Physics with a minor in Geology at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman. She has a master’s degree in Science and Engineering with honors (IGSES Awards) and, in 2013, completed her Doctor of Science in Applied Science for Electronics and Materials at Kyushu University, Japan by two and half year with honors.

She served as a guest researcher at the Institute for Materials Research, Belgium, during which time she expanded her knowledge of CVD applications. Sausan worked at GUTech as an assistant professor before joining The Research Council (TRC) in Oman as a Renewable Energy Researcher in 2015.

From 2016-2018, she was a guest researcher as a project manager at both Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB), Berlin and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) Potsdam, Germany. She has occupied a Senior Expert position since 2019 at TRC and was assigned to be EJAAD Director at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation from March 2021 till Feb.2022. From February 2022 she was hired to be Director of Oman Hydrogen Centre.

Sausan has received several outstanding awards and a few outstanding research fund grants from Japan and has published more than 25 scientific papers and articles in scientific journals, energy magazines, and newspapers and serves as a scientific reviewer in several journals. She was selected to join one of high prestigious event in science The 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting dedicated to physics in Germany and been chosen among 200 applicants to join Baden-Württemberg Post Conference Programme for Young Researcher of the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, taking place in Baden-Württemberg.

As well as representing the Sultanate at several scientific events such as Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting in 2019, Tokyo, and moderate the International Energy Agency (IAE) session for (Oman: promising destination for clean energy) that focus on Hydrogen as new economy in Oman, she initiated Oman Hydrogen Feasibility study. She is frequently invited to various international, regional, and local events to represent the Sultanate for Energy transition related topics including Hydrogen.

Her recent focus includes Scientific Management, Material Science, and Applied Nanotechnology for PV, Renewable Energy, Solar Thermal Technologies, Hydrogen as new Alternative Economy, and topics related to Energy Transition. She also supervises students’ theses with cooperation from local and international universities.

HH Prince Sultan bin Khaled Al Saud is the Deputy CEO of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. In his role Sultan sits on a number of the fund’s committees including the executive, credit, and risk committees. Prince Sultan is also a member of the board of directors of the SME Authority and the Chairman of its board governance, risk, and compliance committee. Prince Sultan holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University.

Dr. Nouf N. Alsharif is a senior economist and a managing director in the Research Department at Jadwa Investment, where she covers various aspects in the Saudi economy and aids in forecasting key macroeconomic variables. Dr. Nouf holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Sussex, with a focus on growth and economic diversification in resource-rich countries, and authored several articles published in international academic journals. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors at the Saudi Economic Association. In 2016, she received the Outstanding Article Award from the Saudi Association for Energy Economics SAEE.

Dr. Fahad Al-Sherehy obtained his doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in Canada and completed Harvard business school Advanced Management Program (AMP). He joined SABIC in 1990 and In 2016 was promoted to be SABIC VP- Technology & Innovation. Since 2019, he has held the position of VP Energy Efficiency and Carbon Management. Dr. Al-Sherehy has contributed to the development and commercialization of five technologies, is the inventor and co-inventor of three patents, and has been a Board Member of several Companies and government organizations.

Fahad Alturki is Vice President of Knowledge & Analysis at King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC). In this role he oversees KAPSARC’s research programs and priorities, ensuring that these are strategically focused on impacts within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, both regionally and globally. Fahad interacts with key stakeholder groups within the Kingdom and internationally, in the private, academic, and government sectors. Moreover, he is responsible for setting the overall directions and parameters for collaboration with KAPSARC’s partners and affiliates.

Externally, Fahad is an independent board member of the General Authority of Statistics Board of Directors and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). He frequently presents papers at a number of high profile local, regional, and international conferences, participates in roundtable discussions and is a well-known media figure in Saudi Arabia and overseas.

Prior to joining KAPSARC, Fahad was the chief economist and head of research at Jadwa Investment Company in Riyadh, where he managed the economic research department and published regular reports on issues related to the Saudi and global economies and the world oil market.

He was also the chairperson of the Public Funds Board, a board member of the Jadwa REIT Al Haramain Fund and Jadwa REIT Saudi Fund, and a member of Jadwa’s executive management committee.

Fahad has a proven track record in economics, with more than 20 years of experience in the field. Before joining Jadwa, Fahad was the chief economist at Barclays, Saudi Arabia. Prior to his time at Barclays, Fahad was an economic specialist at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, where he worked for 11 years in the Economic Research and Statistics Department. Fahad has also worked as an economist at the Middle East and Central Asia Department of the International Monetary Fund.

Fahad holds a B.A. in Business Administration from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia and Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Oregon (Eugene, United States).