Saudi managers replace foreign executives at vital fund-backed companies

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has begun replacing foreign executives with local leaders across several portfolio companies as it tightens spending and refocuses investment priorities on domestic development projects.

The leadership changes are taking place across a number of companies owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), including Alat, Neo Space Group and Lifera, according to Bloomberg's sources citing people familiar with the matter.

The moves follow a broad review of the fund’s portfolio companies and their future capital allocation plans as the PIF reassesses spending priorities after years of rapid expansion.

Among the affected firms is Alat, a manufacturing and technology company launched with plans to invest $100 billion in advanced industries by 2030. Its founding chief executive, Amit Midha, a former Dell executive with extensive experience in Asia, departed last month. He has been succeeded on an interim basis by Muhammad Aldawood, the PIF’s head of industrials and mining.

At Neo Space Group, a satellite communications company, founding CEO Martijn Blanken of the Netherlands was replaced by Haithem AlFaraj, who joined from Saudi telecom operator STC, another company controlled by the PIF.

Lifera, a biopharmaceutical company established in 2023, has also undergone leadership changes as part of the broader restructuring effort.

Like many of the more than 100 companies launched by the PIF over the past decade, these businesses were initially led by international executives recruited to bring global expertise and industry experience to newly created ventures. 

However, Bloomberg analysts believe the latest appointments suggest a growing emphasis on developing Saudi leadership within the kingdom’s strategic industries.

According to a government adviser cited by the outlet, the changes reflect shifting investment priorities rather than a rejection of foreign expertise.

“Some companies are getting more capital, others less capital. So this is the natural moment to reassess leadership,” the adviser said. “It only makes sense to bring in foreign talent if you have a company with lots of cash to spend.”

The executive reshuffle forms part of a broader restructuring effort as the PIF seeks to consolidate operations following a decade of aggressive investment under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The fund has been a central pillar of the kingdom’s economic transformation strategy aimed at reducing dependence on oil revenues.

The appointments also highlight a longstanding challenge facing Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification plans: balancing the need for international expertise with efforts to create more senior employment opportunities for Saudi nationals.

By Nazrin Sadigova