Talal Al-Obailan has been the director of corporate communications and marketing at the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) since November 2018. Before then he was GACA’s director of marketing and communications. Prior to joining GACA, Al-Obailan served at other government institutions including the Ministry of Commerce and Investment and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH). At the Commerce Ministry, he was the director of exhibitions and international markets between June 2015 and March 2017. His responsibilities included restructuring, developing, and leading the exhibitions and conferences department. At the SCTH Al-Obailan led the licenses operations team of the Saudi Exhibition and Convention Bureau between 2012 and 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from King Saud University in Riyadh. He also received a master’s degree in tourism management as well as an organizational leadership certificate from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. The GACA will participate in the Dubai Airshow 2019, which will be held from Nov. 17 to 21 at Al-Maktoum International Airport in the UAE. Al-Obailan said the GACA’s participation came “in light of the expansion witnessed by the aviation sector in the region through the establishment and development of airports and the effort being made to acquire a fair share of the aviation market, meet directly with various civil aviation related entities, and discuss developments and challenges facing the industry in the region.” Al-Obailan went on to say that the GACA would be exploring the latest developments and innovations in emerging technologies and services at the show — given the expected increase in passenger numbers at the Kingdom’s airports in the near future — as well as ways to upgrade its facilities.