Faisal Wali | Energy, Water, & Environment, Manager
KAUST @NEOM

Dr. Faisal Wali is currently serving as the Manager of Water, Energy, and Environment at the KAUST@NEOM team. In this position, he plays a crucial role to comprehend the requirement of challenging Giga Projects like NEOM and understand the synergies to support the tasks in the field of water, energy, and environment through KAUST faculty members. Dr. Wali's efforts have greatly contributed to facilitating synergy between these two institutions and fostering the collaboration. Prior to his current role, Dr. Wali served as the Strategic Partnership and Operations Manager at the KAUST Solar Center (KSC), where he played a key role in managing the center's strategic partnerships. Additionally, he initiated the PV Design school, a program aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of KAUST/KSA students and engineers in the field of photovoltaic design. He also supervises the complex operations of 3400 sqm lab area including clean room along with the team of eight highly professional members. In his previous role as Business Manager to the KSC, he manages the center’s operational budget, research grants and other competitive research funding as well as took care of the hiring in the center. During his 7-year tenure at the Water Desalination Research Center (WDRC) at KAUST, Dr. Wali served as the Center Operations Manager. In this capacity, he successfully established the water center labs and pilot facilities and skillfully managed the center's budget and operations. Dr. Wali is recognized as one of the pioneers at KAUST, where he has actively participated in the construction and operation of various facilities, including the clean room core lab, WDRC labs, and KSC labs. During his Master and PhD, he has gained the required knowledge and research experience in the field of water and energy while working with academia (University of the Punjab, Friedrich Alexander University and University of Twente) as well as industry (BASF The Chemical Company, IMEC, Philips/NXP Semiconductor and ENOWA-NEOM).