Snowflake, the AI Data Cloud company, has announced the appointment of Ali Al-Ismail as Country Manager for Saudi Arabia. This move underscores the company’s commitment to expanding its local business, engaging more closely with customers to maximize their data investments and business value using Snowflake’s platform. It aligns with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to support digital economic growth. Ali’s appointment follows the recent opening of Snowflake’s regional headquarters in Riyadh and the local deployment on Google Cloud in Dammam to help customers meet data sovereignty and residency requirements within the Kingdom.
In his new role at Snowflake, Ali will be responsible for the growth of the company’s operations in Saudi Arabia, including developing relationships with customers and prospects — such as government entities and local businesses — expanding the local partner ecosystem, and growing the local Snowflake team. Ali will drive the adoption of Snowflake's AI Data Cloud across various industries, including public sector, financial services, oil and gas, manufacturing, and retail.
Ali Al-Ismail, Country Manager for Snowflake KSA, said: "Saudi Arabia is a dynamic growth market that is rapidly transitioning to a data-driven economy. Snowflake is at the forefront of this technological shift and was a key driver in my move to Snowflake. As country manager, my top priority is to empower our customers to harness the full potential of their data to drive successful and actionable business outcomes to support the Kingdom’s digital transformation through Vision 2030.”
Ali brings nearly 20 years of experience in sales leadership and business development, having held senior positions at top technology companies such as Oracle, Microsoft, Cisco, and Alcatel. His expertise spans the oil and gas industries, utilities, and mid-market growth companies. Most recently, Ali served as a senior sales leader at Oracle in Saudi Arabia, where he built high-performing SaaS sales and channel teams and drove double-digit growth for the company's cloud solutions. Ali holds a degree in computer engineering from King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM).
Mohamed Zouari, General Manager for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey at Snowflake, added: "Ali’s leadership comes at a pivotal time for Snowflake as we expand our footprint in Saudi Arabia to help customers in the Kingdom with their most important data challenges with faster, cost-efficient, secure, and compliant data solutions. His deep understanding of the local market and commitment to fostering innovation will play a vital role in enabling organizations to leverage Snowflake’s AI Data Cloud to drive business innovation while adhering to the highest standards of data security and sovereignty".