SAMI announces new executive management team

Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) announced its new executive management team, which comprises national cadres and foreign specialists in military industries as well as the financial, administrative, industrial and strategic affairs.

SAMI’s executive team comprises 13 industry cadres, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

Four new members joined the state-owned defense company this year to complete the formation of its executive management.

The new board members are: 

- Mater Alenazy, chief financial officer (CFO). Alenazy served formerly as CFO at ACWA Power. He also held senior positions in other entities, including the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), Saudi-listed Ma’aden and SABIC.

- Walid Abukhaled, Chief Strategy Officer. He has 30 years of experience in the military industries field. Abukhaled served as CEO of Northrop Grumman Middle East. Other senior positions were held by Abukhaled in GE and BAE Systems Saudi Arabia.

- Jose-Esteban Garcia Vilasánchez, Director General of Naval Operations. Vilasánchez has a broad experience in naval systems and defense sectors. He has worked for 28 years at Spain’s Navantia SA and was finally promoted to the company’s board chairman and CEO. 

- Bruno Delile, Executive Vice President of Aeronautics. He formerly served as CEO of Zodiac Aerospace Services. He also worked for Air France-KLM.

Other members of the team are Mohammed Al-Qahtani, Executive President of Technology; Tim Carter, Executive Vice President of Missiles and Weapons; and Johan Sten, Executive VP of Ground Systems. 

Jan Wessels, Executive VP of Defense Electronics; Brandt Pasco, General Counsel at SAMI;  Mohammed Bushnaq, Khalid Al-Mady and Vice President of Information Technology  Hani Al-Hazmi are also members of the executive management team.

Andreas Schwer, CEO of SAMI, said Saudi locals account for 78 percent of the company’s total workforce.

SAMI, which is 100 percent-owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and chaired by Ahmed Al-Khateeb, aims to localize 50 percent of the Kingdom’s military spending by 2030.