Eng. Sami Sarhan began his career at Saudi Aramco in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, in 1994. In
2008, he joined Microsoft in Reading, UK, as a technology specialist focused on developing
middleware systems for the Oil and Gas sector. A year later, he became General Manager at
AbdulKarem Holding in Khobar City, where he directed efforts in Oil and Gas automation
applications. In July 2010, he joined King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
(KAUST), where he advanced through various roles, culminating in his leadership of the
KAUST Fourth Industrial Revolution Center.
Currently, Sami serves as Chief Advisor at the National Industrial Development Center (NIDC), where he leads the development of strategies to localize and grow the Machinery and Equipment sector with a strong focus on Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies. His role supports the center’s mandate to align with the Kingdom’s National Industrial Strategy by driving innovation, attracting foreign direct investment, and enabling advanced manufacturing capabilities across priority value chains in Saudi Arabia.
Sami earned his B.S. in Computer and Electrical Engineering from New Mexico State
University in 1997. He completed his Master’s degree in Computer Science at Florida State
University in 2003 and obtained his MBA from Imperial College London in 2019. Recently, he also earned a Post Graduate Diploma in Innovation and Design Thinking from a consortium of MIT Management Executive Education, Columbia Business School, and Tuck Executive Education.
His recent research on SME readiness in R&D and innovation is notable as one of the first
comprehensive studies at the national level, addressing critical gaps in the SME ecosystem.
Sami has been a pivotal force in helping SMEs adopt Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
technologies. As the founder of the 4IR Center at KAUST, built on his previous work with the
SME Innovation Services department, Sami has driven initiatives tailored to SMEs, impacting over 4,000 businesses. His deep understanding of the unique challenges SMEs face from limited budgets to knowledge gaps has guided the development of accessible, hands-on training in transformative technologies like digital twins, IoT, and AI.
As an inventor Sami own two registered IP’s at the US IPO and the second one at the UK IP
Office. The later is related to Drone systems and gyroscopic propulsion system. A serial
entrepreneur, Sami launched his first e-commerce platform, Oqaz Mall, in 2002, followed by Carts-n-Wheels, a trading business specializing in personal transportation. As co-founder, Sami established YAMAMA Wing, Drone based logistics services startup. As a certified commercial UAV pilot, Sami holds commercial pilot licenses from GACA in Saudi Arabia, CAA in the UK and FAA in the USA