Walid Abukhaled is the newly appointed CEO of strategy and business development at Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI). The former deputy minister for industrial affairs announced the news on Twitter, saying he will start working with SAMI on Sept. 1. Abukhaled received his bachelor’s degree in industrial and management systems engineering from the University of South Florida in 1989. He also completed an executive leadership program at the University of Pennsylvania. His career began at BAE Systems, where he worked in various positions from 1999 to 2011, including head of technical services, head of PR and communications for the Middle East, head of strategy, director of industrial strategy and director of portfolio management. Between 2009 and 2011, Abukhaled was a board director in the advanced electronics company International System Engineering, and was chairman of the board of directors of the Aircraft Accessories and Components Co. In 2011, he was president and CEO of General Electric in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, before serving as a consultant to the minister of commerce and industry in 2012. In 2013, he was appointed deputy minister for industrial affairs. Abukhaled served as CEO of Northrop Grumman Corp.  from 2014 to 2015, before joining the board of the group’s overseas holdings. In 2019, he became general manager of Northrop Grumman Aviation Arabia, and has served as CEO in the Middle East since 2016. In 2015, he was named “CEO of the Year” by Arabian Businesses, and was named one of the “Top 3 Revolutionary CEOs” in the Middle East by Naseeba. He received BAE Systems’ GOLD Chairman Award in 2007.