About Hicham
Seasoned executive with over two decades of leadership in Smart City development, AI infrastructure, and cloud transformation across the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. Proven track record in designing and delivering billion-dollar national AI platforms, managing GPU-based cloud ecosystems (NVIDIA, AMD), and leading strategic deals under Public-Private Partnerships. Recognized for bridging technical excellence and commercial impact, I specialize in enabling AI-ready environments, orchestrating sovereign cloud migrations, and driving digital transformation aligned with national agendas. Trusted advisor to top-tier government clients, delivering scalable, secure, and future-proof solutions
English
Native or bilingual
Arabic
Native or bilingual
French
Native or bilingual
Can work on-site
Riyad (up to 50km)
Experience
- CORE 42DIRECTOR, MEGA PROJECT - CLOUD AND AI FOUNDATIONSeptember 2024 - Today (1 year and 9 months)United Arab Emirates• Lead opportunity development and strategic positioning for flagship initiatives, including the AI Foundation (GPU infrastructure) and cloud migration programs for government entities, enabling scalable, AI-ready environments aligned with national digital priorities.• Spearhead pre-sales validation and executive assurance for AI and cloud solutions across strategic Core42 deals, ensuring alignment with client vision and accelerating decision cycles.
- CORE 42DIRECTOR, IT INTEGRATION SOLUTIONSFebruary 2023 - September 2024 (1 year and 7 months)United Arab Emirates• Directed sales and client engagement for government-to-government Smart City programs in Angola, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan — driving strategic partnerships and expanding the company's international footprint (Closed a $248M deal - PPP model for Smart Grid with SOCAR – Azerbaijan).• Positioned and advanced large-scale integration opportunities with top-tier government stakeholders (MoD, RTA, DMT), serving as a key interface in securing multi-million-dollar smart infrastructure contracts (Closed an $8M deal with DMT, and a $1M deal with RTA).• Played a pivotal role in defining the go-to-market strategy for sovereign cloud and AI platforms, tailoring offerings topublic sector needs and significantly boosting technology adoption across critical infrastructure sectors.
- ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES (KSA & UAE)SOLUTION DIRECTORSeptember 2019 - February 2023 (3 years and 5 months)United Arab Emirates• Drove and cultivated new business opportunities, effectively managing the sales pipeline, resulting in sustained growth andprofitability (Closed a $9M deal for NEOM – CMP)• Strengthened key accounts through consultative selling and solution co-creation, delivering increased client retention and wallet share (Closed an $18M deal for NEOM – CCC)• Led the end-to-end development of strategic proposals, aligning business value with technical solutions to secure competitive bids and drive win rates (Closed a $1.2M deal for MISK)• Orchestrated cross-functional collaboration between regional units and ecosystem partners to ensure seamless delivery ofvalue-aligned solutions.
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Education
- MSC II, TELECOM ENGINEERINGINPT RABAT2005MSC II, TELECOM ENGINEERING
- MSC I, NETWORK INFRASTRUCTUREMohammed Ben Abdellah Univ FEZ1995MSC I, NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE
Certifications
- PMPPMI2025
- CP3PAPMG2019