Amr Al-Dabbagh


Amr Al-Dabbagh is a Saudi businessman, philanthropist, former government minister, and author. He is the Chairman and CEO of the Jeddah-based Al-Dabbagh Group. Al-Dabbagh is the founder of the Stars Foundation, a non-profit devoted to helping disadvantaged children, and Philanthropy University, a Massive open online course for Global South civil society organizations, providing free non-credit courses based in Oakland, California.

Education

Al-Dabbagh obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from King Abdulaziz University. He also attended executive programs in management at the Harvard Business School, the Wharton School, the John F. Kennedy School of Government and the London Business School, as well as training programs with Merrill Lynch, Coutts & Co., and Banque Worms.

Career

Al-Dabbagh Group

Since 1991, Al-Dabbagh has served as chairman and CEO of Al-Dabbagh Group. The business is a family conglomerate founded in 1962 by his father, Abdullah Mohammed Ali Al-Dabbagh, the former Minister of Agriculture of Saudi Arabia.

20x20 Effort

In 2014 Al-Dabbagh announced one of his key initiatives as CEO, the "20x20" effort. This initiative seeks to position Al-Dabbagh Group among the top 20 wholly owned family businesses in the world by 2020.

Club 32 Initiative

As steward of the family heritage, Al-Dabbagh leads the "Club 32" initiative, created to empower the 32 members of the Al-Dabbagh family's third generation, including his own five children, to become global leaders. The initiative will endow Club 32 members with the skills and traits needed to become responsible stakeholders and responsible global citizens.

SAGIA

Al-Dabbagh served two four-year terms in public service as Governor and chairman of the board of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, with the rank of Minister.
Accomplishments during his time at SAGIA included:
Al-Dabbagh created Philanthropy University, an initiative based in Oakland, California. Philanthropy University, launched on 1 September 2015, offers Massive Open Online Courses to Global South non-profit leaders.
The initiative was created with the collaboration of Laura Tyson, director of the Institute for Business and Social Impact at the Haas School. It attracted 200,000 registrants in its first month and has received news coverage from The New York Times and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Philanthropy University has a stated goal of measurably improving the capacity of 5,000 civil society organizations by 2020 by offering free online courses, vibrant communities of practice and access to capital opportunities.

Memberships and honors

Al-Dabbagh is a member of the World Economic Forum, as well as a Member of the Governing Body of the London Business School. He currently sits on the International Leadership Board of Cleveland Clinic and is a Trustee of the Eisenhower Fellowship.
Al-Dabbagh was the founding Chairman of the think tank the Jeddah Economic Forum.
In January 1995, the Executive Board of the World Economic Forum and the Editorial Board of Worldlink Magazine jointly designated Amr Dabbagh as one of 100 "Global Leaders of Tomorrow."
Al-Dabbagh has also served as Honorary Counsel of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Saudi Arabia.
He is a past board member of the Harvard Institute for Social and Economic Policy in the Middle East at the John F. Kennedy School of Government; a member of the Young presidents' Organization ; a member of the Advisory Board of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector; and a member of the Board of the Arab-French Chamber of Commerce.
Al-Dabbagh was appointed to two consecutive 4-year terms as a member of the Regional Council in the Makkah Region of Saudi Arabia and was also elected twice to consecutive 4-year terms as a board member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He has previously served as Chairman of the Jeddah Marketing Board.

Corruption charges

In November 2017, Al-Dabbagh was detained as part of what was called a wide-ranging "anti-corruption" purge that also ensnared Saudi Princes Alwaleed bin Talal and Miteb bin Abdullah. Until 20 December 2018, there was no specific charges against Amr, or any legal proceedings. He was released without charge on 23 January 2019 after an undisclosed settlement with the government.

Selected publications