CEO at Engineer Holding Group (EHG)
At age only 38, Saudi businessman Mohamed Al-Khereiji is one of those powerful few who yield a massive influence over the region via an intricate network of companies and investments bound to shape the future of the industry in the Gulf and beyond.
Al-Khereiji is, among many other things, the CEO of Engineer Holding Group (EHG), a prominent media and investment organization that has been operating in KSA for more than 40 years. EHG owns a number of firms, including Saudi Media Company (which handles the advertising spaces for the Saudi Broadcasting Authority and of which Al-Khereiji is Chairman), and Al Arabia OOH (which he leads as CEO), the largest outdoor advertising company in the kingdom. Today, Al-Khereiji’s net worth is estimated at $2.7 billion and he is said to have the ear of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince H.R.H Mohammed bin Salman.
Al-Khereiji first completed his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Prince Sultan University in Riyadh in 2006, and later obtained an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration from the London-based Business School (formerly Cass) in 2012.
He first worked at Deutsche Bank as an Associate out of London in 2006, before joining the Abdulelah Alkhereiji Group (owned by his father) as Vice President and Al Arabia OOH as Director of Business Development in 2009. Al-Khereiji was promoted to Deputy CEO of Al Arabia OOH in 2013, and to CEO in 2016. In 2017, he was selected to head the advertising committee for the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Meanwhile, his career really picked up speed when he left the Abdulelah Alkhereiji Group in 2018 and joined the Saudi Media Company soon thereafter; and even more so in 2020 when he was named Chairman of the Board of MMS, the in-house commercial and advertising sales unit launched through a partnership between MBC Group, the largest media company in the MENA region, and EHG. In parallel, MBC Group acquired a minority equity stake in Al Arabia OOH.
In 2021, Al Arabia OOH listed 30% of its shares on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) under the Media and Entertainment Industry group, and is looking at major expansion plans, with Al-Khereiji telling the media that the company has received numerous requests, including from government agencies, for it to apply the same business model it uses in Saudi Arabia to other markets in the region. “I expect that this will drive us to the ranks of leading Saudi corporations that can draw advertising budgets for the Kingdom, or operate in areas in the region where Al Arabia can bolster economic capabilities,” he said.
Al-Khereiji made the international headlines in recent weeks when Saudi Media Company submitted a £2.7 million offer to purchase the Chelsea soccer club from Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, sanctioned by the UK government.
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