The 966

In Episode 110, Maria Medvedeva, Vice President, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for MasterCard joins to discuss the company’s KSA strategy, fintech, payments, innovation, and her experiences living and working in a changing and evolving Saudi Arabia. Maria, based in Riyadh with her family, is responsible for Mastercard's growth strategy and delivering innovative payment experiences for consumers and mer...

Chances are if you’ve seen any of the high-quality, professionally-produced promotional videos from Saudi government authorities or leading Saudi companies anywhere online, you've seen some incredible drone footage of Saudi Arabia. The 966 welcomes on to the program for Episode 109 Mohammed Ghazi and Abdulhadi Azouz from the aerial drone production company AZAerials , which films many of these ama...

In episode 108, Mansour El-Zahab and Zeynep Kösereisoğlu from Frontierview , a leading market intelligence and research company, join The 966 to discuss Saudi Arabia’s Regional HQ program (commonly referred to as the "RHQ" program) and dive into some of the legal and practical details ahead of the effective date of the program starting in 2024. The RHQ program is the requirement that companies see...

Hamas' horrific and stunning attack in Israel last week has upended the status quo in the region. With Israel now retaliating in Gaza, bombing an already desperate populace in the Gaza strip, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless there, and with thousands dead and injured on both sides, the war has thrown the Levant into crisis and threatens to spillover into a wider conflict in the Mid...

Dr. Robert Mogielnicki, Senior Resident Scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and professorial lecturer at George Washington University joins The 966 to discuss the growing size and role of the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Robert has previously characterized the PIF as, “screaming onto the scene” with an “everything, everywhere, all-at-once i...

Episode 105! Amjad Ahmad, a leading venture capitalist and seasoned investment professional with extensive experience in VC and private equity in emerging markets, joins The 966. Amjad discusses the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, the MENA region, and globally today. In addition to over two decades of experience investing in the region, Amjad is also chairman and founding director of the EmpowerME i...

Gautam Sashittal, the CEO of Riyadh's financial district that has redefined Riyadh’s skyline and is the city’s most sought-after business address and lifestyle destination, joins The 966 podcast. The district is home to many of Saudi Arabia’s largest companies and regional headquarters of international corporations doing business in the region, as well as the Kingdom’s finest restaurants and real...

Author David Rundell joins to discuss King Salman's incredible impact on Saudi Arabia. King Salman has played an enormously pivotal role for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the development of the modern Saudi state. Before the conversation, the hosts discuss an archaeology summit taking place in Al Ula this week, an interesting and exciting new investment made by Saudi Aramco's VC arm, Wa'ed, into...

Episode 102! Rawan Hashem from the data insights firm Carma joins The 966 to discuss evolving media perspectives of Saudi Arabia and Vision 2030. Before the conversation, the hosts discuss the new organization in Saudi Arabia, called Hevolution, and its $1 billion mission to advance humanity's fight against aging based on a recent Wall Street Journal article from this week. Then the hosts discuss...

Colin Foreman, journalist and editor for the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), joins The 966 to talk about construction, giga-projects, and Saudi Arabia's economic development. MEED is a leading resource for executives with a highly-respected publication for the MENA region. Before the conversation with Colin, the hosts discuss the latest with the Saudi Pro League and dispelling some myths and f...

Nadia Maqbool Al-Lawatiya, a leading Riyadh-based architect and urban designer who is closely familiar with Salmani architecture, joins The 966 to share her journey and discuss some of the themes and thinking behind the new style emerging from Saudi Arabia. Nadia listened to a previous episode of The 966 on Salmani architecture and joins for this episode to discuss the style and answer some questi...

Episode 99! Princess Mashael bint Saud Al-Shalan, Founding Partner, Aeon Strategy, joins The 966 to discuss her work heading one of the leading consultancies in Saudi Arabia in the field of sustainability. Aeon Strategy played a key role in support of the Kingdom's Net-Zero targets under the Saudi Green Initiative and the Circular Carbon Economy Framework. The company aims to lead Saudi Arabia tow...

Episode 98! Dr. Bader Al-Saif, founding President at Al-Saif Consulting and Assistant Professor at Kuwait University joins The 966 to talk about Saudi Arabia as an emerging economic and diplomatic power in a changing region. Al-Saif is also a visiting researcher at Georgetown University, where he completed his PHD in history, and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washingto...

American journalist, author, media executive, and pulitzer prize winner Karen Elliott House joins The 966. Elliott House discusses her recent work, a paper entitled 'Saudi First', for the Belfer Center at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government , as well as her experiences traveling to and from Saudi Arabia for decades and her views on Saudi Arabia as an emerging regional power. Elliott House has s...

Episode 96! The 966 speaks with PepsiCo Middle East CEO Aamer Sheikh for a conversation about the company's strategy to plug into Vision 2030's opportunities and continue to stay on top as the number one food and beverage brand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Sheikh, who is Pakistani-American and grew up in the United States, shares his story and how he rose to the top position for the company...

Episode 95! Following several weeks of amazing special guests on the program (with many more to come in the weeks and months ahead) the hosts fly solo this week and discuss some of the biggest storylines and topics on Saudi Arabia this week. First, the hosts discuss Richard's one big thing this week, the Islamic new year. Muslims around the world observe and celebrate the Islamic New Year, also ca...

Physician, non-fiction author, and broadcast media commentator and writer Dr. Qanta Ahmed joins The 966 from New York to discuss the “colossal” changes in Saudi Arabia since Vision 2030 was launched and her view that Saudi Arabia has emerged as an increasingly important and influential global power. Dr. Qanta is an Academic Pulmonologist and Sleep Disorder Specialist at NYU Langone and has lived i...

Saudi businesswoman Dana Alajlani, Head of Public Affairs for the GCC at Sanofi, the French multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company headquartered in Paris, joins The 966 to share her professional journey and story.  Dana is also Co-Chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Saudi Arabia (AmChamKSA) and is involved there with the Women in Business committee. Before that conversat...

Episode 92! Saudi Arabia’s sporting ambitions and investments have been dominating global coverage of the Kingdom in recent months.  The 966 speaks with Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy, SKEMMA Business School, Paris, about all of the interest and investments by Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations into global sports. Professor Chadwick has consulted for and advised some of the...

The 966 speaks with Dr. Mohanad AlSheikh, CEO of Johnson Controls Arabia, a leading player in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region’s growing HVAC and smart building market.  The 966 hosts ask Dr. Mohanad about the growing business opportunities in the HVAC and smart buildings space in the Kingdom and the wider region, the company’s focus on sustainability, and the importance of being a leading local c...

Saudi entrepreneurs Sara Bin Laden and Renad Aljefri, recent WIN fellows, join The 966 from Jeddah to discuss their experiences and journeys to-date. Renad and Sara recently took part in the second cohort of the Atlantic Council’s Women Innovators Fellowship, known as the WIN fellowship - a program launched by the empowerME initiative of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, by venture capi...

It's a story The 966 has covered in almost every one of its 90 podcasts in one form or another: the PIF-backed LIV Golf tour's founding and rise. So the news breaking today that the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf are combining in a shocking, earth-shattering merger, ending a dispute between the two, is worthy of a special emergency edition of The 966.  Lucien, fresh off the plane and joi...

The 966 talks about the state of business dispute resolution in Saudi Arabia with the CEO of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration, Dr. Hamed Merah, who joins from Riyadh. The 966 talks with Dr. Merah about the SCCA’s rise as a leading dispute resolution body in the region and increasingly, globally. As Saudi Arabia targets attracting foreign investors and companies looking to do business in...

Episode 88! Venture capitalist Eyad Albayouk returns to The 966 to talk about the latest developments in the VC sector in Saudi Arabia as well as the closing of his new startup seed fund with Flat6Labs in Saudi Arabia. The hosts discuss with Eyad the rocky start for new funding rounds in the Kingdom after a red hot 2022. Before that conversation, the host discuss Richard's one big thing - a new re...

Episode 87! The hosts explore overlapping topics in Salmani architecture and an evolving Riyadh city under King Salman for decades. Kicking things off, Richard's One Big Thing is the rise of Salmani Architecture - a term the hosts have come across in recent months that is important in understanding the current and new face of a changing Saudi capital. Salmani architecture combines traditional Saud...