Strategic Leadership
Digital transformation at national scale — translating AI and data strategies into measurable programs, IT governance, ADKAR-based change management, and cross-sector stakeholder alignment.
Technology Governance · AI · National Capability
Leading the talent engine behind Saudi Arabia's AI ambition.
I'm Prof. Mamdouh Alenezi — General Manager of the SDAIA Academy and Full Professor of Software Engineering. For over a decade I've turned strategy into systems: building national AI capability programs, modernizing technology governance, and publishing research that bridges academia and real-world delivery.
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About
Strategy on paper is cheap.
Strategy on paper is cheap.
I build the institutions that deliver it.
My career spans three arenas that rarely meet in one person: executive leadership of national-scale programs, deep technical practice in software engineering and AI, and a research record of 110+ peer-reviewed journal publications.
At SDAIA Academy, I lead Saudi Arabia's national capability development for data and AI — translating Vision 2030 and the Human Capability Development Program into training programs, bootcamps, and certifications with measurable workforce impact. Before that, at Tahakom, I directed the AI Academy and Technology Governance, modernizing enterprise architecture, institutionalizing PMO practices, and embedding CI/CD-enabled DevOps across delivery.
Earlier, across nearly a decade of deanships and the CIO role at Prince Sultan University, I led digital transformation, quality systems that earned ISO certifications and ABET accreditation, and curricula that produced new B.S. and M.S. programs in software engineering and cybersecurity.
Full Professor of Software EngineeringPrince Sultan University, 2022 – present
Prosci® Certified Change PractitionerChange management & ADKAR methodology
Harvard Business School OnlineStrategy specialization — Disruptive Strategy, Strategy Execution, Sustainable Business Strategy
Conference Chair — CDMA & SDMAInternational Conference on Data Science & Machine Learning Applications (2018, 2020, 2024)
Reviewer for leading journalsACM Computing Surveys, Information and Software Technology, and more
Expertise
Five disciplines, one operating system.
Each capability reinforces the others — governance makes AI adoption responsible, engineering rigor makes strategy executable, and capability building makes it all sustainable.
AI Governance & Ethics
Responsible AI frameworks, privacy and data protection, regulatory compliance, and governance audits that turn policy intent into operational controls.
Software Engineering
DevOps and CI/CD modernization, secure development lifecycles, cloud and distributed architecture, and CMMI/ISO-aligned quality frameworks for enterprise delivery.
Capability Building
Curriculum and learning program design aligned to ABET/ACM, talent pipeline development, certification frameworks, and academia–industry partnerships that translate research into practice.
Operational Excellence
Enterprise architecture, PMO and portfolio management, KPI-driven performance measurement, and process improvement grounded in ISO and CMMI standards.
Research Translation
An active research agenda — software security, AI-driven engineering, digital transformation in higher education — deliberately pointed at problems institutions actually face.
Leadership Journey
From department chair to national mandate.
2026 — Present
General Manager, SDAIA Academy
SDAIA — Saudi Data & AI Authority · RiyadhLeading national capability development for data and AI: advanced training programs, bootcamps, and professional certifications aligned to Vision 2030 — with strategic partnerships across universities, research institutions, and industry.
National programsVision 2030Workforce readiness
2024 — 2026
AI Academy Director & Technology Governance Director
Tahakom · RiyadhElevated enterprise architecture maturity, institutionalized a PMO playbook, revamped the SDLC with CMMI-aligned controls, and modernized delivery through CI/CD-enabled DevOps — while building sustained AI capability through enterprise training and academia–industry partnerships.
Enterprise architectureDevOpsAI capability
2024
Founding Dean, College of Space & Aviation Sciences
Prince Sultan University · RiyadhEstablished a new college from the ground up — governance, curriculum, and faculty foundations for a strategic national sector.
Institution building
2020 — 2024
Dean of Quality Assurance & Development
Prince Sultan University · RiyadhBuilt the quality management systems that earned ISO certifications and institutional accreditation, and led the Teaching & Learning Center to raise faculty development campus-wide.
ISO certificationAccreditation
2018 — 2020
Dean of Educational Services
Prince Sultan University · RiyadhRedesigned the student journey end-to-end and restructured the preparatory year program into an independent department.
Student experience
2015 — 2019
Chief Information & Technology Officer
Prince Sultan University · RiyadhSet the university's technology vision, implemented enterprise ERP across finance, HR, and accounting, and established a continuous IT planning process serving the whole community.
ERPDigital transformation
2015 — 2016
Chairman, Department of Computer Science
Prince Sultan University · RiyadhRedesigned courses to IEEE, ACM, and ABET standards and built employer feedback loops into the curriculum.
ABETCurriculum
Research
Selected publications.
110+ journal articles and 27 conference papers spanning software security, AI-driven engineering, and digital transformation. A selection of the most cited and most recent:
Healthcare Data Breaches: Insights and Implications
My most-cited work — a widely referenced analysis of healthcare data breach trends and their security implications.
Higher Education Future in the Era of Digital Transformation
A roadmap for how universities must reinvent themselves as digital institutions.
AI-Driven Innovations in Software Engineering: A Review of Current Practices and Future Directions
Where AI is genuinely changing software engineering practice — and where it isn't yet.
Digital Learning and Digital Institution in Higher Education
A framework separating digitized teaching from true institutional digital maturity.
Reducing Environmental Impact with Sustainable Serverless Computing
Quantifying how serverless architectures can shrink software's environmental footprint.
A Unified Meta Model for Converting Architecture Decisions Into DevOps Pipelines
Closing the gap between architectural intent and what pipelines actually deploy.
h-index 37 · i10-index 98 · 8,000+ citations, with 90%+ earned in the last five years.
Full publication record →
Education
Academic foundations.
Ph.D. Software Engineering
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND · 2011 – 2014
Thesis: "A New Coupling Metric: Combining Structural and Semantic Relationships."
M.S. Software Engineering
DePaul University
Chicago, IL · 2010 – 2011
Requirements engineering, software architecture, OO design patterns, testing & QA.
B.S. Computer Science
Prince Sultan University
Riyadh, KSA · 2005 – 2010
Software engineering, internet security & firewalls — where the journey began, and where I now serve as Full Professor.
Contact
Let's build something with national impact.
Open to speaking engagements, advisory roles, research collaboration, and strategic partnerships in AI capability building and technology governance.