London Business School says Saudi leaders need new capabilities to sustain Vision 2030

Roger Attieh, an executive education leader at London Business School, says Saudi Arabia’s next phase of Vision 2030 depends on leaders who can balance performance with transformation, align stakeholders and build new talent pipelines. The school is expanding its Riyadh presence and local case studies as it seeks to support that shift.

Why it matters: - Saudi Arabia is moving from building the foundations of Vision 2030 to sustaining and scaling it. - That shift raises the bar for leaders who must run today’s businesses while creating the capabilities, behaviors and sectors needed for tomorrow. - London Business School is positioning its executive education work as part of that leadership pipeline.

What happened: - Roger Attieh, Executive Education Client Director at London Business School, discussed with Riyadh Daily the leadership capabilities Saudi organisations need to sustain transformation. - Attieh said Saudi executives increasingly have to act as architects of transformation across government, investors and private-sector partners. - He said the Kingdom’s leadership challenge is no longer only about delivering change, but also about sustaining momentum over the long term.

The details: - Attieh identified four core capabilities for transformation: balancing transformation with performance, stakeholder alignment, navigating complexity and developing people. - Leaders cannot pause today’s business while building tomorrow’s organisation. - Transformation in Saudi Arabia requires coordination across government, private-sector organisations, investors and partners because the work rarely sits inside one institution. - Leaders need to keep a clear strategic direction while decisions evolve with changing objectives. - Attieh said infrastructure and capital can create growth conditions, but sustainable transformation depends on people with the skills and confidence to lead it. - London Business School says its executive education model combines rigorous research, global perspectives and practical learning leaders can apply in their own organisations. - Rapid AI adoption and digitalisation have increased the importance of human leadership. - Attieh said AI can process information and support decisions, but cannot replace human judgment, ethical reasoning or the ability to build trust around a common purpose. - He described adaptability, resilience and emotional intelligence as close to non-negotiable traits for modern executives. - He said leaders now need both technological fluency and human capability. - Attieh said organisations can adopt new technology, processes or terminology without changing the underlying operating model if teams are not empowered to act. - He said empowerment and accountability need to move together. - He also argued that innovation and operational performance are not competing goals, because strong operations create stability for experimentation and innovation keeps organisations adapting. - The human side of change is the most significant factor, he said, because new structures require new behaviors. - London Business School says global business knowledge is most valuable when connected to the context where leaders operate. - The school says more than a decade of working with Saudi organisations, including on workforce nationalisation and sovereign-backed transformation, has shaped its understanding of the market. - London Business School opened its Executive Education office in Riyadh almost a year ago. - The school is also working with local organisations to develop regionally grounded case studies. - Attieh said organisations should look three, five and 10 years ahead to identify future capability needs. - He said companies can build those capabilities through cross-functional and cross-sector assignments, international exposure and experiences that challenge conventional thinking. - He said senior leaders have a role in developing the people around them so leadership development becomes part of the culture rather than the responsibility of a few individuals. - He said this matters in Saudi Arabia because many Vision 2030 industries are new and the Kingdom is creating new pools of expertise rather than simply filling existing leadership roles.

Between the lines: - The message is broader than training alone. - London Business School is framing leadership development as infrastructure for Saudi Arabia’s next phase of transformation. - The emphasis on local context suggests imported management models will not be enough on their own. - The focus on people, trust and judgment reflects a view that technology will amplify leadership demands rather than reduce them.

What's next: - London Business School said it intends to deepen its long-term contribution to Saudi Arabia’s leadership ecosystem. - The school plans to keep bringing its global faculty and research into conversation with the Kingdom’s transformation. - It also plans to expand regionally grounded case studies and research. - Attieh said the goal is to build enduring relationships with organisations and leadership capability at scale. - He said Vision 2030 has created extraordinary momentum, and the next step is ensuring the leadership capability exists to sustain it over the long term.