Knowledge Economic City, the Madinah based Saudi real estate developer, has appointed Hazem Elbanna as Chief Executive Officer. The board named him after its outgoing chief executive declined to renew his term, in a change reported in June 2026.
The appointment gives the listed developer settled executive leadership following an orderly transition. With the previous chief executive choosing not to extend his tenure, the board moved to install a successor, allowing the company to maintain momentum on its long term development programme.
Knowledge Economic City is one of the Kingdom master planned developments, a mixed use economic city in Madinah oriented toward knowledge based industries, education and residential and commercial real estate. Projects of this scale run over many years, and leadership continuity matters for delivery, financing and tenant and investor confidence.
As a company listed on the Saudi Exchange, Knowledge Economic City operates under the scrutiny of public market investors, for whom the choice of chief executive is a meaningful signal. Elbanna inherits responsibility for advancing the development, managing its balance sheet and executing the phased build out of the project.
The Saudi real estate sector sits at the centre of the Kingdom diversification agenda, with large developments supporting economic activity, tourism and the growth of new urban centres. Developers are working through ambitious pipelines, and executive leadership shapes how a company balances construction, sales and financial discipline.
Elbanna early priorities as chief executive are likely to include maintaining progress on the development phases, strengthening the commercial pipeline of tenants and buyers, and managing the capital requirements that come with a project of this size. Clear leadership helps a developer keep long dated projects on track.
Bringing in a new chief executive after a planned departure rather than an abrupt exit points to a considered succession. For a company delivering a multi year development, that steadiness can reassure the partners, contractors and investors whose commitments span the life of the project.
Master planned developments also depend on alignment with public sector priorities and infrastructure, which makes stable, credible leadership at the top an asset in managing those relationships. A chief executive with development experience is positioned to navigate that landscape.
The company did not announce other leadership changes alongside the appointment. It said the new chief executive would lead the continued development of its economic city project in Madinah.
The leadership change comes at a time of sustained activity in Saudi real estate, and the developer will look to its new chief executive to keep the economic city project advancing toward its long term goals.
