Najdi Soul, Global Benchmark
When Adel Saleh Alghamdi was appointed Group CEO of Alothaim Investment, one of the Kingdom’s most dynamic retail and leisure groups, it marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter for both the company and the industry at large. Here, RLI catches up with him to discuss the exciting developments on the horizon.
A seasoned financial leader with a distinguished career in banking and capital markets, Adel has held senior roles across major institutions, including the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) and international financial organisations. Today, he brings a fresh, analytical lens and a global outlook to the fast-evolving world of retail and mixed-use development.
His leadership comes at a pivotal moment for Alothaim Investment. With Vision 2030 accelerating urban transformation and consumer lifestyle shifts across Saudi Arabia, the Group is embarking on one of the most ambitious retail expansion strategies in the region. Over the next five years, Alothaim Investment will deliver 23 new mixed-use developments, representing more than one million square metres of retail GLA. These projects are designed not merely as shopping centres but as vibrant community destinations that seamlessly integrate retail, entertainment, dining and leisure.
“What drew me to Alothaim Investment wasn’t just the scale of its ambitions, which are fuelled by the unrelenting energy of our founder, but the opportunity to reframe how spaces serve communities. I believe that, when thoughtfully imagined, retail and leisure cease to be transactional spaces, but canvases where moments are created and memories are made.”
When speaking about the years ahead, Adel feels it will be about depth, not just breadth. He explains that the business is shifting from being mall builders to transformative lifestyle architects. They are reimagining their spaces for culture, commerce and connection, designed with intention and wired for a new generation.
The goal is not just growth, but relevance, with spaces that welcome, inspire and endure. To sustain this ambition, Alothaim Investment are working hard to institutionalise excellence, professionalise governance, elevate capital discipline and embed sustainability as a core lens through which every decision is made.
“This is the new ‘experience economy’. The winners will not just innovate, they will resonate. They will blend technology with soul, design with emotion and commerce with culture. We intend to not just to compete in this space, but to help define it.”
As the company embarks on its ambitious pipeline of 23 new mixed-use developments over the next five years, the mandate for Adel is to bring coherence, focus and long-term value to that ambition. They are curating relevance at scale, ensuring that every square metre they develop contributes to a more connected, inspiring and future-ready Saudi Arabia. With 38 international brands and over 400 stores, they are already a leading retail force in the region. The task ahead is not just expansion, it is elevation.
With each new project they take on, they ask a simple question: Does this place make people feel like they belong?
“From architectural expression to inclusive amenities, local business partnerships to public programming, we are designing spaces that reflect the rhythm and identity of their surroundings,” Adel comments.
Three of their flagship destinations: Al Othaim Park Dammam, Al Othaim Park Jubail and Al Othaim Circle in Khobar, represent 673,000sq m of mixed-use development, including 300,000sq m of retail GLA, opening in Q4 2026. Each of these projects is being designed as much more than a mall. Dammam will be a vibrant cultural anchor with family-focused leisure; Jubail will bring a long-awaited retail, entertainment and social hub to the Kingdom’s industrial capital and Khobar’s iconic circular, waterfront-inspired design will set a new architectural benchmark.
Together, they blend retail, dining, entertainment, hospitality and public spaces into cohesive destinations designed to spark energy, create new rhythms and become the backdrops for the next chapter of urban life in the Eastern Province.
As our discussion steers onto the topic of technology and how this will be implemented into these upcoming developments, Adel explains that digital is not a layer they add, but rather a mind-set they must embed in everything they do. He continues by saying they approach innovation from three angles, customer intelligence, operational agility and experiential design.
“We are committed to building a smarter ecosystem that uses data to understand behaviour in real-time, improve tenant performance and personalise engagement. Our goal is to make each interaction with our spaces more intuitive, frictionless and meaningful.”
Another topic that is engrained throughout the organisation is that of sustainability and for Alothaim Investment, how they build must always reflect why they build. As the only private-sector company developing destinations across 12 cities, spanning all corners of the Kingdom, their overall footprint will be close to nine million square metres, a scale that carries tremendous responsibility.
“So, as we build, we aim to honour the unique cultural fabric of each location, ensuring that every project leaves behind not just structures, but a sense of pride, a spirit of connection and enduring value for the communities it serves,” Adel comments.
As he looks at what lies ahead, the Group CEO envisions a fully activated mixed-use portfolio and a guest experience philosophy that has been deeply embedded. In short, they will have proven that a Saudi company can marry cultural authenticity with international excellence – ‘Najdi soul, global benchmark’ – and in doing so, help shape the next chapter of the Kingdom’s retail and leisure story.
“I’m privileged to play a small part in shaping experiences that will outlive me, to help write a chapter of our story that speaks of possibility, of excellence and of hospitality. To those watching us from abroad, I say: come build with us, come dream with us and come help us shape the next generation of destinations that will inspire, include and endure.”
Guided by Adel’s financial acumen and long-term vision, Alothaim Investment is positioning itself at the forefront of innovation, investment and immersive experiences, ensuring the Group remains a leading force in shaping the future of retail and leisure in Saudi Arabia and beyond.
