INTERVIEW-London Business School’s Dean Sergei Guriev on How LBS Is Powering Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030

Interviewed by: Mohamed Amin Zahran

 London Business School (LBS), a global leader in business education, has officially opened its new Executive Education Office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The new office, located in Diriyah City, underscores the longstanding partnership between the prestigious LBS and Saudi Arabia, which dates back to more than ten years. It also reinforces the Kingdom’s commitment to human capital development, in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

On this occasion, Professor Sergei Guriev, the Dean of London Business School, speaks with Leaders MENA Magazine about LBS’ strategic alignment with Saudi Vision 2030. In this exclusive interview, Professor Guriev discusses LBS’s commitment to developing future-ready leaders and explains the thinking behind opening its new office in Riyadh.

LBS Office in Riyadh

Q: Why did you choose Riyadh to launch your office?

We have a long-standing and deeply valued partnership with Saudi companies and business leaders. For decades, Saudi professionals have studied at our London and Dubai campuses, and today we are proud to have hundreds of alumni across the Kingdom serving in influential roles. Establishing a physical presence in Riyadh is therefore a natural and important next chapter in our relationship with Saudi Arabia.

This move allows us to deepen our impact and contribute more meaningfully to Vision 2030, particularly its focus on developing human capability and strengthening business leadership. Our role is to equip current and future leaders with the skills to navigate an increasingly complex global environment.

Being present in the Kingdom also enables us to co-create learning experiences that reflect the local context whether in how businesses are built, how organisations are managed, or how new enterprises are launched. It strengthens our ability to work closely with Saudi partners to design programmes shaped by local talent, insights, and ambitions.

Collaboration of this kind is core to who we are as a global business school. In our 60-year history, we have only ever established two campuses, one in London and one in Dubai, so expanding our footprint in this way is truly significant. It underscores our deep commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia’s ongoing transformation and contributing to the remarkable progress taking place across the Kingdom.

Alignment with Vision 2030

Q: How is the LBS matching with the goals of Vision 2030?

Yes, if we look at the core pillars of Vision 2030 – a vibrant society, a thriving economy, and an ambitious nation, London Business School contributes meaningfully to all three.

Through our programmes, we prepare the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs. This directly supports economic growth and diversification, the creation of new companies, the entry of global players into the Saudi market, and the expansion of Saudi organisations into regional and international arenas. This is precisely where our expertise adds value.

By establishing a presence in Riyadh, we are also able to reach leaders who may find it challenging to travel to London or Dubai for executive education. Being here allows us to create a more inclusive environment, one that opens opportunities for a broader segment of society, including female leaders, to access world-class learning.

It is worth noting that London Business School was ranked No. 1 globally for executive education this year by the Financial Times. Bringing this calibre of education directly to Saudi Arabia is something we take great pride in. As a global business school headquartered in London, our commitment is to ensure that all parts of Saudi society have access to the very best in leadership development.

And finally, when we consider Vision 2030’s third pillar – building an ambitious nation, our focus is on strengthening global competitiveness. We want Saudi companies to operate with a deeper understanding of global markets and trends. By bringing world-leading academic insights to Saudi business leaders, we help ensure they are equipped to compete confidently and effectively on the global stage, ultimately contributing to a more competitive national economy.

Expansion in Saudi Arabia

Q: Launching office here in Saudi Arabia is the first step. Are you thinking about launching a branch of your university here in Saudi Arabia?

We believe in progressing step by step, knowing that a series of thoughtful, incremental moves ultimately leads to significant outcomes. At this stage, we are establishing an office in Riyadh – but this is fully aligned with our broader vision of a truly global business school, where learners can take courses across multiple locations and ultimately earn a degree.

We are developing what we call stackable degrees: a flexible model in which a participant might take a course in Riyadh, another in London, a third in Dubai, and combine these into a recognised qualification. This approach reflects the evolving needs of modern leaders who require mobility, adaptability, and continuous learning.

For now, however, our focus is on celebrating the important milestone we have reached today – the opening of our Executive Education Office in Riyadh. It marks a meaningful beginning and lays the foundation for even greater collaboration and impact in the years ahead.

Honing Leader’s Skills

Q: Finally, how does LBS help women in leadership to increase their skills?

If you think about what leaders need today, the world has become incredibly challenging for CEOs and organisations. Leading is harder than ever. We operate in an environment defined by constant complexity, conflicts and wars, climate and nature crises, rapid technological disruptions, most notably AI, and major demographic transitions. Leaders are expected to understand and navigate all of this. Competence, skills, and knowledge are therefore essential, and these are exactly what we provide as a research-intensive, world-class business school.

At the same time, leaders recognise that no single person can master every skill required to run an organisation. This is why building transparent trust within teams is so critical. Leadership today demands not only expertise, but also the creation of a culture where bottom-up innovation and collaboration can thrive. This cultural shift from top-down to bottom-up is a central focus of our executive education programmes.

And because the world is changing so quickly, leaders must also be agile and innovative. Yet this combination is difficult to achieve. On one hand, leaders must inspire their teams with a clear vision – a guiding star that defines where the organisation is heading and what it wants to become. On the other hand, they must constantly innovate and adapt. Balancing long-term commitment with continuous change is a fundamental leadership trade-off.

The right balance varies across different contexts. This is precisely why being in Saudi Arabia and working closely with Saudi partners is so valuable. It enables us to understand how this trade-off is resolved within the local business environment. Through co-creation with Saudi organisations, we shape programmes that reflect what works best for their industries, markets, and organisational cultures.

Ultimately, this work is not pure science, it is also an art. What we teach cannot be easily summarised by ChatGPT. It comes from shared experience, from working hand-in-hand with our partners to understand what their leaders truly need. And this approach is exactly what the world’s top business schools do.