Ahmed Shaker has been the associate director of the Marina and Yacht Club in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) since 2017. He has worked in the industry for almost 30 years and was the CEO and president of the Marine Development Establishment in Jeddah between 2014 and 2017. Shaker also served as the CEO of Mako Marine Consultancy from 2011 to 2017, operating with international partnerships between the US, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Mako Marine Consultancy specializes in the recreational marine business and marine tourism with projects including the design and fitting of marinas and waterfronts, marine retail, yacht fitting, building and management, and marine maintenance and security. Shaker has had experience with other consultancy firms and in various supervisory roles, including as maritime director for Hazim Consulting, marina and watersports manager at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, and project manager at Jazan Economic City. In addition, he has worked as a private consultant for marina developments. He studied marine geology at King Abdul Aziz University, from where he gained a bachelor’s degree in 1995. He holds a master’s degree in business management from Amstead University, Pennsylvania, and also studied marina management at the International Marina Institute, in the US. Speaking to Arab News about the ongoing development of tourism in the Kingdom, Shaker said: “When we initially began thinking about tourism in the KAEC three years ago, we took into consideration international standards. After three years of hard work, we’ve finally achieved these high international standards and we’re ready for international tourists.”