Salim Al Gudhea, Managing Partner of Simon-Kucher in KSA

In Who’s Who, ConsultancyME profiles leaders from across the management consulting industry. This edition: Salim Al Gudhea, Managing Partner of Simon-Kucher’s Riyadh office.

Salim Al Gudhea is a leader with 25 years of experience, gained in the management consulting and the government sectors. He has extensive expertise in public policy, national & sectorial strategies, institutional transformation, strategic planning, financial economics, and commercial growth, having worked across Saudi Arabia and the GCC region.

During his time in the government sector, Al Gudhea served as the CEO of the General Entertainment Authority, and held several leadership roles in the KSA’s Ministry of Economy and Planning, latterly serving as Deputy Minister, responsible for the development and execution of number of national transformational initiatives, strategies and programs.

He also worked for key institutions such the Saudi Central Bank and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Before joining Simon-Kucher at the start of this year, Al Gudhea was the Founder and Managing Partner of Wazeen Consulting, a boutique consulting firm in Saudi Arabia specializing in strategic and economic advisory across multiple sectors such as culture, entertainment, sports, and tourism.

As a consultant, Al Gudhea offered strategic guidance on projects like the Cinema Launch in Saudi Arabia and the design and deployment of a national Cultural Fund.

He currently leads Simon-Kucher’s expansion into Saudi Arabia. “Simon-Kucher is a specialized consulting firm globally recognized in topics such as growth optimization, commercial strategies, pricing and dynamic pricing models, and monetizing innovation.”

“Bringing Simon-Kucher speciality to the Saudi consulting market is timely, with many key Saudi entities showing mounting interest in our leading track record in commercial growth. Having been on the buyer’s side of consulting service for a long time, I believe that Simon-Kucher possesses unique offerings that fit well with the demands from the market.”

Al Gudhea holds a PhD in Economics from the Southern Illinois University (US) and executive education degrees at Harvard (US) and IMD (Switzerland).

In addition to his consulting work, he has has authored numerous academic publications, such as in the Journal of Economics and Business, Economic Systems, and Journal of Emerging Markets.