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Saudi Arabian Military Industries Executive Team Completed

Saudi Arabian Military Industries Executive Team Completed
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Saudi Arabian Military Industries Executive Team Completed

Saudi Arabian Military Industries Executive Team Completed

Saudi Arabian Military Industries’ (SAMI) executive tam has been completed, Dr. Andreas Schwer, CEO of SAMI announced on Tuesday.

Schwer said the team comprises distinguished national leaders and international experts specialized in the military industries, as well as the financial, administrative, industrial, and strategic sectors.

The members of the executive management team have been recruited to support the company’s journey and the development of a strong local base for military manufacturing and defense in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Each will play a key role in steering SAMI’s efforts to embrace international trends and developments, transferring state-of-the-art technology to the Kingdom and setting-up local production to fulfill domestic and export market demands, he explained.

SAMI’s executive team consists of 13 experts and pioneers in various fields of military industries. During the course of 2019, it has been complemented with the addition of four senior experts.

These experts are Chief Financial Officer Mater al-Anazi, Chief Strategy Officer Walid Abukhaled, General Director Naval Systems Jose Esteban Garcia Vilasanchez and EVP Aeronautics Bruno Delile.

Anazi is a seasoned expert with extensive experience in the finance and accounting sectors. He has previously served as Chief Financial Officer at ACWA Power International and has also excelled in senior financial and accounting posts with organizations such as SAGIA, Maaden, and SABIC.

Abukhaled has had a distinguished career in the military industries for almost three decades. Prior to joining SAMI, he served as CEO for Middle East at Northrop Grumman and has held numerous roles at General Electric (GE) and BAE Systems.

While Vilasanchez is an industry veteran in the maritime and defense sectors and has joined SAMI from Navantia, where he most recently served as Chairman and CEO as part of his 28-year tenure with the organization.

Delile is a well-established leader in the aeronautics domain and has served many years as an executive manager in various organizations, including Air France- KLM and Zodiac Aerospace.

The executive management team also includes Chief Technology Officer Dr. Mohammad al-Kahtani, EVP of Weapons & Missiles Dr. Timothy Carter, EVP of Land Systems Johan Steyn, EVP of Defense Electronics Jan Wessels, General Council Brandt Pasco, VP of Corporate Communications and Services Department Wael al-Sarhan, VP of Human Resources Mohammed Bushnag, VP of Quality and Internal Audit Khalid al-Madi and VP of Information Technology Hani al-Hazmi.

Schwer noted that the completion of the company’s executive team sets the course for the company’s next phase of growth, with the new appointees looking forward to harnessing their abilities and extensive industry experience to support SAMI in achieving its goals.

“The objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 provided a strong source of motivation for these esteemed industry leaders to join the company and serve as key enablers of the program by being part of the emerging defense ecosystem in Saudi Arabia,” he stated.

He also pointed out that the team will work within SAMI’s integrated industrial enterprise to develop and support the military industries in the Kingdom and play a key role in increasing the domestic share of military equipment expenditure to 50 percent by 2030.

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How the Holy Sites Welcomed 122 Mn Visitors this Ramadan

The millions who visited the Grand Mosque reflect decades of dedicated effort and meticulous care (SPA)
The millions who visited the Grand Mosque reflect decades of dedicated effort and meticulous care (SPA)
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How the Holy Sites Welcomed 122 Mn Visitors this Ramadan

The millions who visited the Grand Mosque reflect decades of dedicated effort and meticulous care (SPA)
The millions who visited the Grand Mosque reflect decades of dedicated effort and meticulous care (SPA)

Following a highly successful 2025 Ramadan season (1446 AH), during which more than 122 million pilgrims and visitors were received at Islam’s two holiest sites, attention has turned to the factors behind this unprecedented achievement — and the decades of effort that made it possible.

The massive turnout at the Grand Mosque in Makkah is not a coincidence but the result of long-term planning and sustained investment.

Since the era of King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s rulers have regarded their custodianship of the holy sites as a sacred duty.

Each monarch has contributed to the development and expansion of the holy cities, leaving behind a legacy that has shaped the pilgrim experience for generations.

Their commitment reflects Saudi Arabia’s role as guardian of Makkah and Madinah — the birthplace of Islam and the site of its most revered rituals — and underscores a national vision that places the service of pilgrims at the heart of state policy.

King Salman once summed it up succinctly: “The title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is a great honor and a tremendous responsibility.” His words reflect a legacy that dates back to the Kingdom’s founder, King Abdulaziz, who famously declared, “We, the Al Saud, are not merely kings — we are bearers of a message.”

That message - rooted in the spiritual and historical significance of Makkah and Madinah - has deeply shaped the outlook of Saudi Arabia’s monarchs. It has imbued their rule with a sense of purpose and legitimacy, reinforcing their unique role in the Muslim world and positioning them as leaders of the global Islamic community.

King Abdulaziz’s commitment to the Grand Mosque in Makkah went far beyond construction and infrastructure - it extended to the very heart of its religious, educational and administrative affairs.

His comprehensive vision reshaped the Haram into a unified spiritual and intellectual center for Muslims around the world.

Among his most transformative reforms was the unification of prayer leadership. For centuries, prayers at the Grand Mosque were held separately according to the four Islamic schools of thought - Shafi‘i, Hanafi, Maliki and Hanbali - each with its own imam and designated prayer space.

King Abdulaziz abolished this system, dismantled the physical markers that separated the sects, and instituted a single imam for all, reinforcing unity among worshippers.

He also revitalized the mosque’s scholarly tradition by appointing a dedicated committee to oversee education.

New regulations were introduced to improve the conditions of teachers and ensure instruction across all four Sunni schools of thought.

At its peak, the Grand Mosque hosted more than 120 learning circles, covering subjects such as Islamic jurisprudence, Arabic language, literature, logic — and even astronomy — in a variety of languages.

More than 700 teachers from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds contributed to this intellectual revival, restoring the Haram’s historical role as one of the Islamic world’s earliest and most important centers of learning.

To streamline operations, King Abdulaziz also established an administrative council to oversee services and day-to-day management of the mosque, delegating maintenance and construction responsibilities to the Ministry of Endowments.

King Abdulaziz passed away before he could oversee the first major expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, but his sons carried the vision forward, launching a strategic project that spanned nearly a quarter of a century.

This foundational expansion—supervised by Kings Saud, Faisal and Khalid—marked a turning point in the development of the Haram and involved more than 55,000 engineers, experts, technicians, staff and laborers.

The expansion increased the mosque’s built-up area and surrounding plazas to nearly 200,000 square meters - more than six times its original size. At peak capacity, it could accommodate up to 400,000 worshippers. The project came at a cost of one billion Saudi riyals and signaled the beginning of a modern era in the mosque’s architectural and spiritual evolution.

As pilgrim numbers continued to grow, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz initiated a second phase of expansion, completed in 1993 (1413 AH).

The mosque’s total area, including surrounding courtyards, doubled to approximately 400,000 square meters, raising capacity to around 800,000 worshippers. The project, which also included upgraded infrastructure and services, cost more than 30 billion riyals.

A third and most ambitious expansion followed under the orders of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. It included the enlargement of the mosque itself, the Masa’a (the running area between Safa and Marwa), and the Mataf (the circumambulation area around the Kaaba).

This phase continued under King Salman and brought the total area of the mosque and its courtyards to 750,000 square meters, with total built-up space exceeding 1.4 million square meters.

Today, the Grand Mosque can host up to 2.5 million worshippers. The expanded facilities accommodate 105,000 pilgrims performing Tawaf (circumambulation) around the Kaaba and 120,000 people performing Sa’i between Safa and Marwa, setting new benchmarks in scale, design, and operational efficiency.