London Business School to Open Riyadh Office to Boost Human Capability and Leadership Development in Line with Saudi Vision 2030
London Business School (LBS), one of the world’s leading institutions in business education, has announced plans to launch a new office in Riyadh in the coming months. The strategic move aims to strengthen the development of human capability and leadership across the Kingdom, supporting key goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
The announcement was made at the Human Capital Initiative (HCI) 2025, held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee. The event, held from April 13–14 at the King Abdulaziz International Convention Center, brought together global leaders in education and workforce development.
In conjunction with the new office, LBS named Professor Florin Vasvari as Executive Dean of Executive Education, Middle East. Professor Vasvari, along with Helen Kerkentzes, Associate Dean of Executive Education, will serve as General Managers of the Riyadh office.
LBS’s expansion to Riyadh marks its second physical presence in the Middle East, following the establishment of its Dubai campus in 2007. The Dubai campus has since graduated more than 1,600 alumni through its Executive MBA program, which is now available in flexible formats, both in-person and blended, from London or Dubai.
The new Riyadh office will play a pivotal role in strengthening LBS’s partnerships with top Saudi organisations including Saudi Aramco, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and SABIC. These partnerships have already contributed to customized executive education programmes tailored to local needs.
According to Professor Sergei Guriev, Dean of London Business School, the Riyadh expansion reaffirms LBS’s commitment to empowering the Kingdom’s public and private sector leaders. “Our expansion in Riyadh reflects our deep commitment to supporting human capability building and leadership development in the Kingdom,” said Guriev. “By providing access to world-class executive education, we are empowering leaders to navigate global markets and meaningfully contribute to the Kingdom’s ambitions.”
Professor Vasvari emphasized the growing demand for executive education in Saudi Arabia. “Through our Riyadh office, we aim to further expand access to world-class business education and co-design new programmes with local partners that will support Saudi Arabia’s transformation for the future,” he stated.
LBS’s engagement in the Kingdom has already yielded significant outcomes. Participation from Saudi executives in LBS’s open-enrolment Executive Education programmes has surged by more than 250% over the past four years. Notably, the number of Saudi women participants has increased by 350% in the same period, reinforcing LBS’s support for inclusive leadership development. As part of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to reach 40% female workforce participation by the end of the decade, and LBS is actively contributing to this goal by equipping women leaders with essential skills for organizational success.
Looking ahead, London Business School aims to empower more than 10,000 Saudi executives by 2030 through strategic collaborations with both public and private sector institutions. The Riyadh office will serve as a central hub for these efforts, delivering high-impact programmes that contribute to a knowledge-driven economy and the future-ready workforce envisioned in Vision 2030.
