# IDC: CIO Summit Saudi Arabia 2026

- Dates: 1 September 2026 to 2 September 2026
- Status: this event has ended.
- Location: Fairmont Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Organiser: DCCI SAUDI
- Industry: Cybersecurity
- Expected attendance: 300

## About

The IDC CIO Summit Saudi Arabia 2026 returns for its sixteenth year as the Kingdom’s flagship gathering for senior technology executives. Taking place at Fairmont Riyadh, the summit convenes CIOs, CTOs, Chief Digital Officers and IT decision-makers from government ministries, large enterprises and regulated industries to examine the strategic and operational dimensions of artificial intelligence adoption.

## Official links

- [Official website](https://www.saudi.dccisummit.com/)
- [Agenda](https://www.saudi.dccisummit.com/agenda/)

## Topics

- Agentic AI and the Shift Toward Autonomous Systems
- Legacy Modernisation as an AI Enabler
- Data Governance and Digital Sovereignty
- Building AI Talent and Organisational Capability
- Technology Ecosystem and Vendor Landscape
- Strategic Context for Saudi Technology Leadership

## Speakers

- Zaid Aljameel, Director of Cloud Infrastructure, Digital Government Authority
- Mehdi Paryavi, Chairman & CEO, International Data Center Authority (IDCA)
- Nishil Dhanani, Executive Director-Project Development, DataVolt
- Khurram Shah, Chairman, Desert Dragon
- Kamel Al Tawil, Managing Director, Equinix Middle East FZ LLC
- Khalid Alusail, Executive Director - Technology Development, Red Sea Global
- Jamil Barakat, EVP - Business Technology, Riyad Bank
- Mohammed Almazroai, Data Center Director, Mobily
- Abdulaziz Alsubki, Technology Infrastructure & Cloud Services Director
- Farooq Aljwesm, Head of Data Centers, Aramco
- Ali Hummadi, Executive Director - Digitalization, ARASCO
- Dakheel Almogbil, Public Cloud Operations, Aramco
- Javed A. Akbar, Chief GRC & Data Officer, National Industrialization Company – Tasnee
- Muneer uz zaman Mohammed, Director Data Center, Diriyah Company
- Simon Young, Sub Regional Lead - Energy, Location & Strategy, MEA, Google
- Naveed Saeed, Sr. Vice President, Topology, Global Tier Authority
- Stephen Beard, Global Head of Data Centres, Knight Frank LLP
- John Seed, Group Director, Strategy & Development, Dar Al Riyadh
- Tahir Gok, Senior Analyst - MENA Lead, datacenterHawk

## Where to stay

- **توبال للشقق الفندقيه**: 230 m from the venue
- **White Palace Hotel**: 310 m from the venue
- **Grand Plaza Hotel**: 470 m from the venue, 8235 الملك عبدالعزيز, 3914
  - [Hotel website](https://www.booking.com/hotel/sa/grand-plaza-gulf.html)
- **Abha Palace**: 500 m from the venue
- **Crowne Plaza - Minhal**: 500 m from the venue, 4 stars
- **House Cris**: 880 m from the venue
- **Riyadh Marriott**: 960 m from the venue, 5 stars, Al Ma'ather Street, Riyadh
  - Phone: +966 1 4779300
- **Malaz restaurant**: 1.2 km from the venue

## What people are saying

- [DCCI Summit Saudi 2026 | Datacentre & Cloud Event in Riyadh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS_nLhM7iyc)
- [DCCI Summit Saudi 2026 | Datacentre & Cloud Event in Riyadh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxSaGkOb9qI)
- [DCCI Summit Saudi 2026 | Datacentre & Cloud Event in Riyadh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXquXleQz84)
- [DCCI Summit Saudi 2026 | Datacentre & Cloud Event in Riyadh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hICGIWCB6Ko)
- [DCCI Summit Saudi 2026 | Datacentre & Cloud Event in Riyadh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-1RsMpJkF4)
- [DCCI Summit Saudi 2026 | Datacentre & Cloud Event in Riyadh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI3rz6MnBdc)

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Source: https://www.luminik.io/events/idc-cio-summit-saudi-arabia/