Abdullah Sharaf al-Ghamdi

Abdullah Sharaf al-Ghamdi is the President of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). He was appointed by Royal Order in 2019 with the rank of minister and was previously the director of the National Information Center. He established and chaired the first Software Engineering Department in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and established 'Thakaa' Center for emerging technologies. He is the first Saudi academic to obtain a professorship in the software engineering field. He has published about one hundred scientific papers, registered several patents, and held several administrative positions, including the presidency of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones.

Abdullah al-Ghamdi earned his doctorate with distinction in software engineering in 1997 from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, followed by postdoctoral studies at the University of Ottawa in Canada in 2004. He was a professor of software engineering at King Saud University and sought to establish the first Saudi academic department in this field, where studies were available to both genders. He obtained the rank of professorship in 2011 in software engineering, achieving a pioneering position at the level of the Kingdom.

He established and supervised a center specialized in emerging technologies in 2010 , which is the 'Command and Control Center for Advanced Systems,' later renamed 'Thakaa' Center. It currently falls under the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises 'Monshaat.' The center is concerned with encouraging innovation and adopting technical creativity in the Internet of Things, data science, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. The center has become a gateway for technology transfer and localization in the field of complex computer systems, artificial intelligence, business intelligence, big data, robotics, virtual reality, and augmented reality, providing studies, research, and consultations to military, industrial, and civil entities in this field.

At King Saud University, Abdullah al-Ghamdi held several positions, including Assistant Vice Rector for Knowledge Exchange and Technology Transfer. He also was the General Supervisor of the Center of Excellence in Information Assurance, the Advanced Manufacturing Institute, the Renewable Energy Center, the Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials, the Center of Excellence in Biotechnology Research, and he was the general supervisor and founder of the Knowledge Industry Eco-System.

He offered advanced courses in object-oriented software development methodologies, software engineering tools, and software architecture. He organized workshops and specialized events in advanced technologies.

In 2011, Abdullah al-Ghamdi experienced academic education outside the Kingdom when he worked as a visiting professor at George Mason University in Virginia, United States of America, and as a consultant in software engineering and complex systems development at British Aerospace Electronic Systems. During his academic tenure at King Saud University, he supervised a number of master's and doctoral theses and several research projects. He was the head of the Software Engineering and Information Systems departments in the College of Computer and Information Sciences. He also held the position of head of academic accreditation for the Software Engineering Program, which received institutional accreditation twice in a row and was classified as a benchmark program globally.

He is an advanced software engineer, a former programmer at Geoserve Company, and a database developer and manager at the Ministry of Defense and the Saudi Telecom Company.

Abdullah al-Ghamdi has held several positions, including chairman of the board of directors of the Secure Communications Center at the Center for Communication and Knowledge Foresight in the Royal Court, assistant general supervisor for digital transactions there, and director of the National Information Center and head of its strategy team. Additionally, He was deputy and then chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones. He also led the team that drafted 'SDAIA' Authority's proposal. He chaired the AI Center of Advanced Studies (Thakaa) and the Center of Excellence in Information Assurance. He was a member of the board of directors of Misk Schools, and served as an advisor to the Minister of Education and the president of King Saud University.

In 2022, Abdullah al-Ghamdi won the Moderation Award at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in its sixth edition for 'his distinguished technical efforts that contributed to highlighting the civilized image of the Kingdom, harnessing technology to enhance the values of moderate humanitarian work among members of society, and elevating the values of national belonging among individuals and institutions.'

He has obtained several professional certificates in project management, software project management using software engineering tools, software architecture methodologies, software requirements engineering, software quality engineering, analysis of software training requirements, database management, and software development. He has attended courses in leadership, strategy development, effective management, and time management.

Abdullah al-Ghamdi has chaired several committees, including the supreme committee for the Second International Conference on C4I Solutions, the supreme committee for the First International Conference on C4I Solutions, the supreme committee for the National Symposium on C4I Solutions, and the supreme committee for the 'KSU Invents' conference and exhibition. He also chaired the joint committee between the Ministry of Defense and King Saud University for technology transfer in Command and Control systems, and the institutional accreditation committee for the Software Engineering Department.