Saudi PIF Strengthens Expansion Strategy With Key Appointments

Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)
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Saudi PIF Strengthens Expansion Strategy With Key Appointments

Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)
Logo of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced a string of new appointments in its executive team under the framework of an expansion strategy to achieve its goals, as one of the main engines of the Kingdom’s economy.

The appointments announced Tuesday included Yazeed al-Humied, as new Head of the Fund’s Local Holdings Investments and Rashed Sharif, as Managing Director and CEO of the merged entity of NCB Capital and Samba Capital, a key strategic PIF portfolio company.

Leading Saudi financier, Rania Nashar was appointed as Senior Advisor to PIF Governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan. In addition, Fahad Alsaif was named as the new Head of Corporate Finance, Alireza Zaimi appointed to the role of Special Advisor to Rumayyan, and Saad al-Kroud as acting PIF Chief of Staff.

The Fund said that the new appointments aim to support and bolster its ambitious strategy by enhancing the expertise of its executive team.

It described Nashar as a “prominent name in the banking world”, adding that she is the first woman to lead a banking Group in Saudi Arabia as CEO of Samba Financial Group.

She brings more than 20 years of professional experience in the banking industry and assumed various roles in different divisions within Samba, and is a member of various boards including the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul).

Fahad al-Saif was formerly the CEO of the National Debt Management Center and advisor to the Minister of Finance. He and brings more than 20 years of corporate and investment banking leadership experience to the role.

He will become a member of PIF’s Management Committee.

The Fund has an executive management team with extensive experience in various fields, and with the growth of its diversified local and international investment activities, bolstering these experiences will support efforts to achieve the ambitious goals.

“I would like to welcome Rania and Fahad to PIF. As we continue PIFs ambitious strategy they will bring extensive global capital finance and banking experiences to their positions, which will play an integral role in helping accelerate PIF’s growth trajectory,” said Rumayyan.

He also congratulated and thanked “Yazeed, Rashed, Alireza, and Saad for the significant contributions they have made to PIF, and I look forward to continuing to work closely with all of them in their new roles.”

The governor indicated that these appointments are critical to ensuring PIF continues to achieve its ambitious growth trajectory and important mandate on behalf of the people of Saudi Arabia.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) is one of the world’s largest and most impactful sovereign wealth funds. It is the main engine helping to drive Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation as part of the country’s Vision 2030.

Last week, PIF surpassed the 1,000-employee mark, expanding from an initial 40 employees in 2016.

The Fund has also grown to over $347 billion AUM and has invested a total of $82.9 billion in the Saudi economy during the past four years while contributing to the creation of more than 190,000 new jobs in the country.



Trump Says US in Transition Period, Downplays Impact of Short-term Recession

US President Donald Trump reacts next to coal industry workers, on the day he signs energy-related executive orders at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
US President Donald Trump reacts next to coal industry workers, on the day he signs energy-related executive orders at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
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Trump Says US in Transition Period, Downplays Impact of Short-term Recession

US President Donald Trump reacts next to coal industry workers, on the day he signs energy-related executive orders at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
US President Donald Trump reacts next to coal industry workers, on the day he signs energy-related executive orders at the White House in Washington, D.C., US, April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo

President Donald Trump said the US was in a "transition period" and was going to do "fantastically" while downplaying the impact any short-term recession may have.

When asked during an interview with NBC News whether it would be OK to have a recession in the short term, Trump said: "Look, yeah, it's — everything's OK. What we are — I said, this is a transition period. I think we're going to do fantastically."

Trump's comment on the US economy being in a transition period echoed comments he made earlier on Friday in a social media post, in which he also cited strong employment and reiterated his call for the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, Reuters reported.

"We’re only in a transition stage, just getting started!" he said in a Truth Social post. The post followed the release of US data that showed job growth slowed marginally for April.

Trump, who just passed his 100th day in office, has faced growing public discontent over his handling of the economy, with many economists predicting a wide range of tariffs imposed in recent months will drive up inflation and slow growth.