Big tech’s budding relationship with Saudi Arabia in doubt

A senior global advisor to The MENA Catalysts, H.E. Redha Haidar advises on market entry into Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy. 

Former president of Saudi’s national media regulator, he played a key role in blocking and lifting restrictions on several companies. He is exceptionally well-connected in KSA’s media censorship circles and served as a long-time advisor to the media regulator’s chairman.

Redha has held roles with the Saudi SEC-equivalent, business licensing authority, and national committees. He is a board member of the Crown Prince’s Philanthropic Foundation and former chairman of Manga Productions.

An entrepreneur and founder of Bitmal, Redha has launched several startups and is a seasoned executive with expertise in Saudi strategic communication, media, and public policy.

He holds Master’s degrees from Harvard Kennedy School, Georgetown University, and a BA from American University in Multimedia Design and Development.

Vernon Cassin

Senior Saudi Policy Expert

Based in Saudi Arabia for 40 years, Vern advises Arab finance ministries and central banks on business-relevant legislation and fintech sector regulation. A graduate of Princeton University in Near East Studies and Harvard Law School, Vern advises top financial and technology multinationals on market entry into Gulf countries. He is one of those ‘lifeboat’ team members you always want on your side.

Sam Blatteis

CEO and Founder

American tech executive and Middle East market access expert with over 20 years of experience in the Arab world. He delivers Middle East government relations priorities for unicorns to regional champions to “Big Tech” and everything in between. His insights attract global media attention in major publications like The Economist, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal,  The Financial Times, and Al Arabiya.

Sam is the CEO and Co-Founder of The MENA Catalysts, a premier public policy consulting firm for high tech firms in the region.

As Google’s former public policy head in the Gulf, Blatteis played a key role in drafting high tech legislation that may gradually shape the region’s digital economies for decades to come. 

He advised the White House and Fortune 50 companies, through Middle Eastern strategy roles in the U.S. Senate, State Department, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He earned a master’s degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and was  selected as a U.S. National Fulbright Scholar.  He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental.  Sam is originally from the Silicon Valley area, where his family has lived for multiple generations. The CEO has lived in Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, New York, Cairo, Los Angeles, and Dubai.

Mr. Spindle has worked and lived in the Middle East and South Asia for nearly two decades. As a journalist and bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, he was based in Tokyo, New York, Rome, Dubai and New Delhi while reporting from more than 30 countries from Mexico to China covering everything from the Japanese banking industry to the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East.

Between his two ten-year stints at the WSJ, he was a founding editor of The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi. He is a college graduate of The University of Michigan with masters degrees from Columbia University’s schools of journalism and international affairs.

A senior global advisor to The MENA Catalysts in the UAE covering the Gulf Cooperation Council markets, H.E. Mohammed Al Ghanim is the Founder and a long-time Director General of the UAE national technology regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority, and Chairman of the Gulf Technology Regulators Permanent Taskforce.

In those roles he oversaw market entry and regulatory priorities with West Coast-U.S. high tech companies. Once known as the leading tech regulator in the Gulf, he regulated, blocked, and built up most of the entire UAE techno-economy that exists today.

He also authored most content policy legislation in the UAE and is considered one of the most distinguished, well-connected thought leaders on Gulf social media regulations. Ghanim is now among the most tenacious government relations professionals in Middle Eastern markets.

After acquiring his B.A. in Engineering with honors in the UAE in 1994, Ghanim started at the bottom of the largest telecom company in the Middle East, Etisalat, where he quickly rose in the ranks to several senior managerial posts.

Mr. Ghanim is also currently on the Board of the Abu Dhabi Media Zone Authority 2454, and Gulf entertainment giant Flash Entertainment Company that provides unmissable events and entertainment to engage, inspire, and pioneer the future of music, sporting events, community and festivals.

Lindsay is a focused and resourceful business professional with 11 years of international experience supporting senior decision-makers and investors in building effective business units, strategic programs and partnerships.

Lindsay has a broad background in the defense economy and corporate development, including six years of direct work for the United States and United Arab Emirates governments. Lindsay has experience with technology offsets, capacity building and international security partnerships.

She knows strategic planning, project management, start-ups, and how to forge government relationships to develop businesses.

Ivan is an experienced leader with a strong track record in technology, start-up and venture capital.

Former Google executive, Ivan was most recently the Chief Development Officer at STV, the largest venture capital fund in the region with more than $500M in assets under management. At STV, Ivan was leading portfolio support and value creation, helping STV portfolio companies address key challenges to scale, such as talent, marketing & growth, business development and strategy.

Before joining STV, Ivan was Regional Lead for new markets at Google MENA and Principal at Booz & Company, consultants. Ivan holds a Masters in Logistics and Transport Engineering from Belgrade University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.