Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | By Rana Azeem
The World CIO 200 Roadshow – KSA Edition 2026, organized by the Global CIO Forum, was successfully held in Riyadh, bringing together leading technology executives, Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), IT leaders, digital transformation experts, and Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) professionals from Saudi Arabia and more than 60 countries worldwide.
The World CIO 200 Roadshow 2026 went beyond being a leadership event, emerging as a global transformation platform focused on accelerating digital innovation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, collaboration, and future-ready leadership. The event aligned with global priorities promoted by influential institutions including the World Economic Forum (WEF), United Nations (UN), OECD, World Health Organization (WHO), ISO, BRICS, and ASEAN, supporting the advancement of a sustainable and digitally connected future.
The event commenced with the Saudi National Anthem, followed by a welcome address from Ronak Samantaray, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GEC Media Group and Global CIO Forum. In his remarks, he highlighted that future economic success will not depend solely on advanced technology but also on global collaboration, innovative thinking, and visionary leadership. He emphasized that the World CIO 200 platform continues to bring together technology leaders from across the world to address shared challenges, exchange knowledge, and develop strategies for the digital future.
During the event, Hamdan Alshammari, Digital Enablement Director at Seha Virtual Hospital, delivered a keynote address titled “The Collaborative CIO – Powering Cross-Industry Tech Alliances.” He highlighted the importance of technology collaboration across industries and its vital role in supporting the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
The event featured a series of high-level keynote sessions and panel discussions covering artificial intelligence, digital transformation, cybersecurity, cloud computing, IT governance, risk management, business continuity, and enterprise leadership.
The session titled “The Next Wave of AI: Strategy, Innovation & Intelligent Enterprises” was moderated by Anas Mosa, IT Director at Rua Alharam Almakki. The panel included Syed Fakruddin Albeez, Chief Technology Officer at Osus Real Estate; Nezar Al Turki, IT Manager at the Ministry of Saudi Arabia National Guard; Suliman Khader, Group Chief Information Officer at Al Faisaliah Group; Ruba Farouq Khader, Managing Partner at Digitalogy; and Dr. Fatimah Alakeel, Cybersecurity & AI Expert and Assistant Professor at King Saud University.
The panelists discussed the practical adoption of artificial intelligence, digital innovation strategies, intelligent enterprises, and the future impact of AI-driven transformation.
The conference also featured keynote presentations from distinguished industry leaders. Keyur Joshi presented “AI at Scale – The New Era of Supercomputing,” while Khalid Mubarak Alzahrani, Manager of Enterprise Architecture at GEOSA, highlighted “Enabling Vision 2030 – The Strategic Role of Digital Transformation.”
Arif Siddique Khokhar, Associate Director Internal Audit & Risk Advisory at Transvare, shared insights on the digital transformation of audit, governance, risk, and compliance, while Praveen Manohar, Vice President – Customer Success & Support at Prophaze, addressed the importance of securing cloud-native enterprises.
Another key leadership session, “Resilience, Governance and Business Continuity,” was moderated by Ali El Kontar, Founder & CEO of Zero&One. The panel featured Ramesh Murugesan, Thamer Alrowidhan, and Betania Allo, who discussed enterprise resilience, cybersecurity, AI governance, regulatory compliance, and the future of business continuity.
One of the most appreciated sessions of the event was the Power Panel: “From Competition to Co-Creation: Why CIO Communities Win Faster,” moderated by Adnan Rafique Ahmed, Risk Management and Business Continuity Expert and Executive Director at Smart Irtekaz.
The panel featured Dr. Mansoor Ali Yusuf Baig, Digital Transformation and AI Strategist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center; Mohammed Al Shobani, Chief Information Officer at AviLease; Vinay Kumar, Head of Information Technology at Tim Hortons Middle East; Ali Saif, Head of Information Technology at Tanmiah Food Company; and Usman Abrar, Head of Technology at PKF Al Bassam.
The discussion highlighted how CIOs have evolved from being technology managers within organizations to becoming strategic leaders driving innovation, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and digital transformation.
Adnan Rafique Ahmed emphasized that Saudi Vision 2030 has successfully united organizations and sectors under a shared national vision. He also appreciated the efforts of GEC Media Group in bringing the World CIO 200 platform to Saudi Arabia and creating a world-class networking and knowledge-sharing environment for senior technology leaders from more than 100 organizations.
The event also witnessed strong participation from the Pakistani professional community, including Khurram Mansoor, Hammad Siddiqui, Awais Chaudhary, Waqas Butt, Suhail Akhtar, Rasib Zahid, Arslan Waris, and Ali Aziz, who actively represented Pakistan at this global technology gathering.
The event concluded with the prestigious CIO 200 Recognition & Felicitation Ceremony, where outstanding technology leaders were honored under the categories of Next-Gen, Leader, Master, and Legend at the World CIO 200 Awards 2026.
The distinguished award recipients recognized for their contributions to technology leadership, digital innovation, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, governance, and digital transformation included Bilal Bajwa, Adnan Rafique Ahmed, Imtiaz Ahmed, Dr. Mansoor Ali Yusuf Baig, Usman Abrar, Anas Mosa, Nezar Al Turki, Ruba Farouq Khader, Hamdan Alshammari, Ramesh Murugesan, Syed Fakruddin Albeez, Thamer Alrowidhan, Ali Saif, Betania Allo, Suliman Khader, Dr. Fatimah Alakeel, Khalid Mubarak Alzahrani, Arif Siddique Khokhar, and Praveen Manohar.
During the closing ceremony, Adnan Rafique Ahmed also presented copies of his book “The Happiness Way of Life” to distinguished guests and technology leaders, including Mohammed Al Shobani, Faris Al Ghazawwi, Anushree Dixit, and Ronak Samantaray.
Speaking about his book, Adnan Rafique Ahmed said that “The Happiness Way of Life” focuses on positive thinking, happiness, purpose, success principles, and creating meaningful change in personal and professional leadership journeys.
The World CIO 200 Roadshow – KSA Edition 2026 once again demonstrated Saudi Arabia’s growing position as a regional and global hub for digital innovation, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and technology leadership. The platform continues to connect CIOs, technology experts, and business leaders worldwide to shape the future of the digital economy through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation.
