Khaberni - "Forbes Middle East" announced its list of the most powerful technology leaders in the region for 2026, which sheds light on the most prominent influential leaders in shaping the technological landscape in the Middle East, with a notable presence of Emiratis in decision-making and implementation positions within governments and global technology sectors.
The list of the most powerful technology leaders in the region for 2026 addresses the forces driving technological transformation in the Middle East, through three main lists including: the most powerful technology leaders in the government sector, the most powerful leaders of global technology companies in the Middle East, and the most powerful CEOs in the technology sector in the region. The ranking is limited to leaders in the Middle East and North Africa, based on a set of criteria including the leader's impact in the region, overall experience, the size of the entity or company, as well as achieved technological initiatives and investments.
The list included 50 entries, represented by 53 leaders from 8 countries, with the UAE topping the ranking with 25 leaders, accounting for 47% of the total, followed by Saudi Arabia in second place with 15 leaders, exceeding 28%, the list also included 4 leaders from Egypt, 3 from Kuwait, and two from both Oman and Bahrain, while Morocco and Qatar had one leader each.
Leading Emirati
Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cybersecurity for the UAE government, topped the list of the most powerful technology leaders in the government sector, which highlights senior public sector leaders who lead national bodies concerned with regulating, securing, and enabling technology systems.
Coming in second place was Abdullah bin Sharaf Al Ghamdi, Head of the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), followed by Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary-General of the Advanced Technology Research Council in the UAE. This ranking was based on criteria that included the role and responsibilities of the government entity, the scope and size of its impact, as well as the leader’s powers and role in directing technology policies and initiatives.
As for the list of the most powerful leaders of global technology companies in the Middle East, which highlights the regional leaders in the world's largest technology companies, driving growth in areas including cloud computing, digital platforms, enterprise software, and artificial intelligence in regional markets, it was topped by Ronaldo Mouchawar, Vice President of Amazon for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey.
In second place were both Antoine Naqash, the Executive General Manager for Google in the Middle East and North Africa, and Abdul Rahman Al Thehaiban, General Manager for the Middle East and Turkey at Google Cloud, followed by Fares Akkad, Regional Director for Meta in the Middle East and Africa. This ranking includes leaders of companies listed on Forbes’ top 2000 public companies around the world for the year 2025, taking into account the leader’s achievements during the past year, the scope of their position, the size of the company, and their experience in the sector.
In the list of the most powerful CEOs in the technology sector in the Middle East, Bing Xiao, Chief Executive Officer of G42, topped the ranking that includes founders and CEOs of some of the most influential technology companies in the region, in fields including artificial intelligence, telecommunications, cybersecurity, defense, and digital infrastructure.
Following him were Hatem Dowidar, Chief Executive Officer of e&, then Aliyan Al Wetaid, Chief Executive Officer of stc group. This ranking is limited to CEOs of companies whose main headquarters are in the Middle East and North Africa, based on criteria that include the leader’s impact in the region, their overall experience, the size of the company, as well as performance and achievements during the past year, technological initiatives, announced investments, and completed deals.
