With more than 100 of the Kingdom’s most influential ICT leaders in attendance, the IDC Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2019 closed with a ceremony to mark the second edition of the IDC CIO Excellence Awards.
At a time when innovation is becoming the hallmark of competitive success, IDC sought to recognise the efforts of those individuals and organisations that have excelled in conceptualising and delivering game-changing Digital Transformation initiatives across the Kingdom.
“CIOs are coming under mounting pressure to disrupt their organisations in a meaningful and constructive way, reinventing the experiences of customers, partners, and employees alike with the help of innovation-accelerating technologies like Artificial Intelligence, robotics, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things,” said Hamza Naqshbandi, IDC’s Country Manager for KSA and Bahrain.
“This pressure will see spending on Digital Transformation initiatives across the Middle East and Africa top $25 billion this year, so it’s only right that the pioneering efforts of the Kingdom’s most successful and innovative digital leaders are highlighted and publicly acknowledged in this way.”
IDC had been accepting nominations across three categories since August and received a total of 50 submissions from 31 different organisations. IDC’s CIO Advisory Council for Saudi Arabia then reviewed the nominations, with the winners and finalists in each category revealed below:
Winner of CIO of the Year was Dr. Saleh AlMugrin, Ministry of Defense. Finalists were: Mohammed AlEnazi, Fawaz Alhokair Fashion Retail; Yazeed A. Alotaibi, Ministry of Health; Eng. Motref AlSahli, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology; and Eng. Faisal Ahmed Bakhashwain, Ministry of Civil Service
Winner of CISO of the Year was Alaa Al Asali, Arab National Bank. Finalists were Darweesh Nasser Al-Buainain, SATORP; Jad H. Abdulsalam, Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden)
Winner in Excellence in Digital Innovation was the BinDawood Group. Finalists were National Water Company; Umm Al-Qura University; and National Housing Company.
IDC would like to thank the esteemed members of the CIO Advisory Council for being part of the judging process:
- Eng. Ali Al-Asiri, Chief Executive Officer, e-Government Program, Yesser
- Ibrahim Almoqbil, Chief Support Services Officer, General Entertainment Authority
- Jason Roos, Chief Information Officer, King Abdullah University of Science & Technology
- Hisham S. Hammami, Chief Information Officer, Ministry of Hajj & Umrah
