Rami Al-Sakran

Rami Al-Sakran has been the capabilities development manager for the Royal Commission for Al-Ula since January 2019.

He has an associate’s degree in technical support from

Riyadh College of Technology, and a bachelor’s in information systems from the University of Texas in San Antonio. He gained his master’s in management, and a doctorate of education in educational leadership, both from Sam Houston State University.

Previously, he served as a business planning analyst at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, an information technology and services provider in Houston, Texas, for a year and seven months. He also worked for US firm National Oilwell

Varco, a leading designer and manufacturer of oil and gas drilling equipment, as a business analyst between 2014 and 2016.

Al-Sakran has worked for a number of Saudi companies, including the National Water

Co. and Alkhorayef Group Co. as a computer technician. He was also an adjunct lecturer at Riyadh College of Technology between August 2004 and January 2005.

The Royal Commission for Al-Ula recently launched the second phase of its overseas scholarship program, giving students the chance to study at universities in the US, UK, France and Australia.

Al-Sakran said the program was one of four strands in a community development plan, and that local people were key to the success of turning Al-Ula into a major tourist destination.

“Locals, locals, locals. Without the locals, we cannot succeed” he told Arab News.