Fawaz Farooqui

Managing Director

As Managing Director of Cruise Saudi, Fawaz Farooqui utilizes his expertise and background in performance management, business intelligence, operational excellence, and innovative city management to guide the company’s preliminary growth phase.

Fawaz serves as a Chief Advisor to the Saudi Minister of Culture, heading several developments and projects related to cultural development and tourism. Fawaz joined the government in 2015, serving as an advisor to the Minister of Economic and Planning. He led multiple initiatives to restructure the recreation and entertainment sectors that culminated in establishing Saudi Arabia’s landmark General Entertainment Authority and the Quality of Life Program. Fawaz was also CEO of the National Transformation Center. He found the national transformation center and led the rollout of the second iteration of the NTP, which restructured many of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 Programs.

Before joining the government, Fawaz led key initiatives at King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), where he launched KAEC’s entrepreneurship program while partnering with the global Messengers of Peace (MoP) initiative to kickstart several social responsibility programs, which resulted in KAEC’s listing on the international agenda for the MoP initiative. Previously, Fawaz led several business transformations while working with Saudi Aramco for nine years.

Fawaz has an MBA from Stanford University and earned a BSc in Computer Engineering and Computer Science, a BA in Political Science, and an MSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. He has authored several articles on technical engineering, including three technical papers. He serves as a board member on several organizations, including Saudia Airlines Group and the Saudi Sports for All Federation.