Aiman al-Mudaifer

Spear’s Review

In May 2025 Saudi Arabia confirmed the appointment of Aiman al-Mudaifer as CEO and managing director of NEOM, one of the kingdom’s ‘giga projects’ and the cornerstone of de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 programme to diversify the economy away from oil.

NEOM is a $500 billion project that plans to transform the northern Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia into a futuristic city almost the size of Belgium. Its centrepiece is a giant horizontal city with mirrored walls called The Line. Al-Mudaifer had been the acting CEO since November 2024, when he took over from Nadhmi al-Nasr, who departed amid criticism over the project’s workplace and management culture.

Al-Mudaifer has a strong track record of public and private sector experience. Since 2018, he has led the local real estate investments division at the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund that had assets under management worth $913 billion as of end-2024. He has also oversaw strategic investments in infrastructure, tourism and housing to support Vision 2030.

Al-Mudaifer’s appointment is seen as a signal of Riyadh’s decision to refocus NEOM’s management under a steadier and more technocratic hand. ‘Over the past months, al-Mudaifer has remained focused on maintaining operational continuity, improving efficiencies and accelerating progress across NEOM’s strategic projects and regions,’ NEOM said upon his appointment.