Amr Al-Dabbagh

Amr Al-Dabbagh (born 1966) (Arabic:عمرو الدباغ) is a Saudi businessman, philanthropist and former head of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), where he served two four year terms before returning to the private sector.[1][2]

Amr Al-Dabbagh
Born
Amr Abdullah M.A. Al-Dabbagh
NationalitySaudi Arabian
Alma materKing Abdulaziz University
Occupation(s)Businessman and 2nd Governor of SAGIA (2004–2012)
Years active1984–present
RelativesYasmeen Al-Dabbagh (daughter)

During his time at SAGIA, he was credited with managing the work that pushed Saudi Arabia from 64th to 11th on the World Bank's ranking of the most business-competitive countries in 2010.[3]

He founded the Philanthropy University in 2015 to give free online courses in leadership and management to entrepreneurs striving to effect social change.[4]

Early life & Education

He was born to Abdullah Al- Dabbagh a former Saudi Minister for Agriculture in 1966.[5]

He obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from King Abdulaziz University.

He also participated in executive programs in management at the Harvard Business School, Wharton School of Business, John F. Kennedy School of Government and the London Business School, as well as training programs with Merrill Lynch, Coutts & Co., and Banque Worms.[6]

Career

Al-Dabbagh is the current chairman and CEO of Al-Dabbagh Group (ADG).

Since 1984, he has had a career spanning the public and private sector.Al-Dabbagh served two four-year terms in public service as Governor and chairman of the board of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), with the rank of Minister.[7][8][9][10]

Al-Dabbagh was the founding Chairman of the think tank the Jeddah Economic Forum. Al-Dabbagh was appointed to two consecutive 4-year terms as a member of the Regional Council in the Makkah Region of Saudi Arabia and was also elected twice to consecutive 4-year terms as a board member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He has been Chairman of the Jeddah Marketing Board.

The business is a family conglomerate founded in 1962 by his father, Abdullah Mohammed Ali Al-Dabbagh, the former Minister of Agriculture of Saudi Arabia.[5]

He created Philanthropy University, an initiative based in Oakland, California. Philanthropy University, launched on 1 September 2015, offers Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to Global South non-profit leaders.[11] The initiative was created with the collaboration of Institute for Business and Social Impact at the Haas School.[12]

Philanthropy

Al-Dabbagh founded the nonprofit organization Philanthropy University. To determine if a learning project could enhance the lives of 100 million individuals by 2020.[11]

For this, Al-Dabbagh has collaborated with the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley to provide " Massive open online courses," commonly known as MOOCs, on how to be a more effective and impactful nonprofit organization leader through the platform.[13]

He also founded the UK based Stars Foundation that operated from 2001-2020 to help transform the lives of disadvantaged children and their communities globally through  its flagship  program, the  Stars  Impact Awards.[14]  The awards recognized strong locally-led organizations responding to the needs of underserved children[15]

Corruption charges
Main article: 2017 Saudi Arabian purge

In November 2017, Al-Dabbagh was detained as part of what was called a wide-ranging "anti-corruption" purge that also ensnared Saudi Princes Alwaleed bin Talal and Miteb bin Abdullah.[16][17]

On November 4, it was claimed that Dabbagh was called from Jeddah to the Ritz Carlton, a luxurious Riyadh hotel that had been converted into a makeshift prison for hundreds of Saudis suspected of corruption by the authorities, and had been detained since.[18]

Along with Dabbagh, Adel Fakeih, the former economy minister of the country, and Hani Khoja, also remained in the custody.[3]

Intially Dabbagh denied the charges.[19][3] Until 20 December 2018, there was no specific charges against Al-Dabbagh, or any legal proceedings. He was released without charge on 23 January 2019 after an undisclosed settlement with the government.[20]

References
  1. "Al-Dabbagh of Saudi Investment Authority Discusses Reforms and Strategies for Growth | Columbia SIPA". www.sipa.columbia.edu. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. "New champion for Saudi's economic cities | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  3. "'Disappeared': Saudi business chiefs languish in jail as MBS chases UK deals". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  4. "Who are the detained Saudi businessmen?". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  5. "The Dabbagh Family". Arabian Business.
  6. Lanchner, David (9 March 2009). "Saudi Arabia Decrees It". Institutional Investor.
  7. "Saudi Arabia | Data". World Bank. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  8. "Annual Report of FDI INTO SAUDI ARABIA 2010" (PDF). SAGIA. National Competitiveness Center. 10 October 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  9. "Doing Business 2010 – World Bank Group". Doing Business. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  10. "Saudi Arabia's new desert megacity". BBC News. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  11. Paul Sullivan (16 October 2015). "Online University Helps Philanthropic Groups and Their Leaders". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  12. "UC Berkeley and Saudi Donor Start New Online 'Philanthropy University'". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  13. "U.C. Berkeley launches Saudi-funded Philanthropy University". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  14. "Stars Foundation Impact Awards 2011 | Global development | The Guardian". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  15. Scott, Craig (5 December 2012). "STARS Foundation: Ten years of changing lives". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  16. "Billionaire prince among dozens arrested in Saudi sweep". ABC. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  17. "Saudi Arabia detains princes, ministers in anti-corruption probe". Reuters. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  18. "Saudi anti-corruption probe 'finds $100bn was embezzled'". BBC News. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  19. "Saudi Arabia makes fresh arrests in anti-graft crackdown: sources". Reuters. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  20. "Saudi businessman, two consultants released from detention: sources". Reuters. Riyadh. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
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