With a decade in the financial services, our impressive EMBA-Global 2026 student – Rashida Elbourne -decided to join the Riyadh Global Experience – “Unlocking Innovation: Saudi Arabia’s Economic Transformation, which took place in December 2025 and became a live capstone, translating classroom concepts into practice through Vision 2030. From ministries to startups and AI leaders, each visit reframed how competitiveness, diversification, and digital infrastructure come together at national scale. Guided by world-class faculty and a diverse cohort, the experience challenged her assumptions and expanded her view, which can be explored in more-depth below:
- Could you please tell us a little bit about your background and why do you think you needed a programme like EMBA-Global in your career at this point.
I am a strategy and operations management consultant with nearly 10 years of experience in optimizing processes for financial institutions, specifically with digital transformation and technology implementation. As a financial services consultant, I chose this programme because both London and New York City are the financial capitals of the world. At this point in my career, this programme would not only expand my strategic credibility but also help me understand more about global macroeconomics and geopolitics. Additionally, it allowed me to continue to work full time while pursuing my degree.
- What GE location did you choose and what was the most attractive about the theme?
I chose Riyadh “Unlocking Innovation: Saudi Arabia’s Economic Transformation.” My initial interest for this GE was based on a recommendation from Suzanne Ngan, EMBA-Global ’25, she attended the inaugural GE in 2024 and raved about the experience. After being selected as one of 3 for EMBA Global spots, I assumed the theme would connect real-world economic change with core business concepts I studied so far. I saw it as a real-life case study to summarize my learnings from the programme. It was truly the best choice I could have made, an eye-opening experience that instantly became the highlight for the last two years!
- What key sessions did you attend that made you see the business world from a different angle?
I attended the Ministry of Finance where I learned about Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 as one of the most ambitious national transformation efforts currently taking place today. It was not only impressive to hear how it began in 2016 to present day success, but most inspiring talking point was how they defined their strategy in three phases of build, implement and maximize the impact. The other session that adjusted my world view was the Ministry of Commerce visiting the National Competitiveness Center (NCC) which highlighted the competitiveness model from tourism, entertainment, sports and technology industries. The emphasis of redesigning Saudi’s economy to be competitive and future-based on financial and social reform.
The strategy focused on empowering the private sector and improving the quality of life by diversifying their source of money shifting from oil and gas to tourism, sports & entertainment, AI & digital infrastructure.
4. GE is about expanding your expertise within a specific topic as well as being able to experience first-hand talks and tours from the leading companies within that sector. What companies/ stakeholders did you interact with?
There were several company visits during Saudi Arabia’s GE which provided a holistic view from different business perspectives in Saudi Arabia including government institutions like Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy and the National Competitive Center (NCC), start up space called The Garage, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), AI companies like Mozn and Humain and cultural visits including The National Museum and Diriyah At-Turaif. Each visit emphasized their role in Vision 2030 and how each company has incorporated the vision into their mission.
5. Who was the leading faculty and who was part of your cohort?
Florin Vasvari and Emre Ozdenoren led the GE group but very notably too the course administrators, Fiona Garcia, Mubasira Badrudin and Johanna Salinas-Nokes, played a major role in the success of the GE as well! My cohort was a mix between MBA students both 1- and 2-year programme, EMBAs, Sloan Fellows, Globals and a few LBS alum from the covid class that couldn’t take their GE in 2020. This made the learning teams diverse in background, experience, industry expertise and knowledge. The mix allowed for great conversations and even better questions during site visits and with guest speakers.
- Do you have any piece of advice for upcoming EMBA candidates that wish to choose Saudi Arabia as part their GE?
My advice to EMBAs considering Saudi Arabia’s GE is do it, without hesitation! Saudi Arabia is undergoing one of the most ambitious economic and societal transformations in the world, and there are very few opportunities where you can observe innovation, policy reform, and capital deployment at this scale in real time. Choosing Saudi offers far more than academic insight, it provides firsthand exposure to how governments, corporations, and entrepreneurs collaborate to reshape entire industries. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of emerging-market dynamics, leadership under transformation, and decision-making at a national and enterprise level. The experience will challenge your assumptions and broaden your worldview.
For more information on the EMBA-Global programme and Global Experiences, please visit our website.