Tariq bin Abdul Aziz Al-Faris is the mayor of Riyadh and CEO of the Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA). Among other responsibilities, Al-Faris is tasked with doubling efforts to achieve the Kingdom’s aspirations based on the National Transformation Program (NTP) 2020 and implementing the roadmap toward Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. On Thursday, ADA and Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) signed a cooperation agreement with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the participation of Riyadh city in the “KPIs Project” within 50 cities around the world. In 1984, Al-Faris earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Arizona in Tucson, US. He furthered his studies in this field in 1986,  attaining his master’s degree in civil engineering.  When he returned to Saudi Arabia in 1986 he joined ADA as a civil engineer. In 1988, he was appointed assistant director of the King Fahd Road Project and the Governance Palace Development Project.  In 1994 Al-Faris was promoted to director of ADA’s Projects Management Department. In subsequent promotions Al-Faris became ADA’s director general of construction in 1999, and then ADA’s director general of urban facilities in 2009. Prior to being appointed mayor of Riyadh in February of this year, Al-Faris served as vice president of ADA and as vice minister of municipal and rural affairs.