Leadership

Engineer 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.

Dr. Fahad Alturki is Vice President of Research 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. Dr. 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, Dr. 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, Dr. 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.

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

Dr. 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).

In May 2022, the Board of Trustees of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) appointed Saad Al Qarni as Vice President of Finance and Operations for the Center. Saad is responsible for leading the finance and operations functions of the organization and supporting the Center in realizing its vision.

Saad joined KAPSARC as Director of Information Technology in 2015. He spearheaded the modernization of the IT department, redesigned critical IT services and contracts, and introduced new platforms and automation. He was also responsible for providing strategic leadership and support for the Center’s transformation plan through the strategy refresh project (TASAMI project).

Prior to joining KAPSARC, Saad worked at Jadwa Investment, overseeing the technology development and support for asset management, private equity, and brokerage functions.

Before that, he managed online banking development in leading Saudi banks and led cross-functional teams to build the related business and technology foundations.

Saad holds a B.A. in Information Systems from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.