Who’s Who: Faisal AlFadhel, Director at Deloitte and AI expert in defence

Faisal AlFadhel is a Director at Deloitte, where he plays a leadership role in shaping AI strategies and secure data architectures for defence and government organisations.

With more than 18 years of experience, Faisal is a recognised leader in artificial intelligence, digital transformation and advisory across the government, public sector, defence and national security domains in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf region.

Throughout his career, he has advised ministries, sovereign entities and major corporates on AI strategy, enterprise modernisation, digital governance, emerging technologies and large-scale transformation programmes aligned with national development agendas and Saudi Vision 2030.

His work focuses on strategy development, and translating national AI ambitions into operationally resilient capabilities that balance innovation with governance, security and long-term sustainability.

A former military professional, Faisal brings deep expertise in defence technology enablement and intelligence-grade AI systems. He has contributed to pioneering programmes involving unmanned systems, AI-enabled command environments, geospatial and signals intelligence, sensor-to-shooter integration and human–machine teaming.

After graduating in the UK, Faisal began his career with Airbus and NASA before joining QinetiQ, one of the UK’s leading defence technology companies. Following his move to the Middle East, he held a series of senior leadership roles across the defence sector, overseeing military infrastructure programmes, defence innovation initiatives and AI-enabled public safety systems, among other roles and projects.

Faisal joined Deloitte in its Saudi business in August 2025, where he serves as a trusted advisor to senior government and defence leaders on sovereign AI, national digital capability and strategic transformation initiatives. He acts as the firm’s AI authority for defence and security systems in the Kingdom.

Faisal AlFadhel holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from King’s College London and a PhD in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence from the University of Bath. He has also completed executive education programmes at Harvard Business School.