Abeer AlAkel assumed her role as Acting CEO of the Royal Commission for AlUla in 2024. She is responsible for overseeing RCU’s mandate to realise the vision of AlUla for its communities and visitors through regenerating and protecting its cultural landscape and providing quality of life to residents.

An accomplished executive and a founding member of the RCU team, Abeer has led and overseen the development and implementation of key strategic initiatives in AlUla for the last six years. In her position as Founding CEO of the Cultural Oasis Regeneration Centre, she focused on the sustainable regeneration and development of AlUla Cultural Oasis, with an emphasis on education, training, and agritourism to restore local communities and farmers.

As Chief of Special Cultural Zones, she was responsible for the full realisation of cultural zones masterplans; from development and design to successful delivery and operation. Key projects included the roll out of the Journey Through Time masterplan and the Cultural Oasis District Public Realm Programme.

As Chief of Special Initiatives and Partnerships, Abeer oversaw the implementation of large scale projects such as the Journey Through Time masterplan; led a global design competition for the Museum of Incense Road and Perspectives Galleries: The Contemporary Art Museum; and established AlUla’s growing equestrian sector. She significantly expanded RCU’s network of global partners to build and share knowledge and expertise, including agreements with UNESCO, IUCN, Panthera, and World Bank.

Abeer launched Winter at Tantora, establishing AlUla as a global destination for art, culture and nature, and achieving two Guinness World Records for largest hot air balloon show and largest mirrored building for Maraya. She played a key role in driving innovation initiatives across the organisation and was instrumental in the Saudi-French intergovernmental agreement for the comprehensive regeneration of AlUla.

Prior to joining RCU, Abeer worked at PwC, leading in mega transformation projects within the Saudi government sector for key clients such as Ministry of Social Affairs and General Sport Authority. Originally trained in Computer and Information Sciences, Abeer is a graduate of Harvard Business School and King Saudi University.