FII names Princess Maha bint Mishari as CEO, alongside Attias
Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative Institute appointed Princess Dr. Maha bint Mishari as its CEO, putting her in charge of the kingdom’s annual business conference that’s become a magnet for bankers and corporate executives from around the world.
Princess Maha, a physician and Vice President of External Relations and Advancement at Riyadh’s Alfaisal University, will replace Richard Attias, the Moroccan-born impresario who founded the FII conference in 2019 and will continue as Chairman of the FII Institute.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund and current Chairman of the FII Institute, said in a statement that he expects Princess Maha to strengthen the organization’s role “as a catalyst for investment, ideas, and solutions that serve humanity.”
Next week, Princess Maha will deliver her first address as CEO at the FII PRIORITY Europe 2026 Summit in Rome, one of several regional conferences that have been spun off from the Riyadh gathering.
“I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees, the Executive Committee, our partners and our talented team to further advance our mission and create meaningful impact for future generations,” Princess Maha said.
Saudi FII conference winds down, spawning billions in deals
After three days of working the vast marble halls and plush meeting rooms of the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, corporate chiefs are shaking hands on billions of dollars in deals arranged at Saudi Arabia’s annual Future Investment conference.
With FII’s outgoing CEO Richard Attias estimating that the conference would spawn some $28 billion in investments, executives from Wall Street, the Gulf, China and elsewhere vied for attention in announcing their latest deals.
Among the most watched tie-ups was the preliminary agreement announced by the Saudi Public Investment Fund to back Brookfield Asset Management’s new $2 billion Middle East fund, boosting the Canadian investment firm’s ability to finance deals in the Gulf.
New York-based Z Capital Group pledged as much as $2 billion for investments in Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reports. It said the bank will launch a direct lending fund with approximately $1 billion early next year that offers senior secured and asset-backed loans to small and medium-sized businesses.
The National Bank of Kuwait signed $1.6 billion in deals at the FII conference, including a $690 million agreement with ACWA Power to support the Saudi energy and desalination company’s expansion plans in and outside the kingdom, KUNA reports.
