Faisal Wali

Energy, Water & Environment Manager

Dr. Faisal Wali is a seasoned research operations and strategic partnership professional with over a decade of experience at the intersection of water, energy and environmental sciences. He currently serves as Manager of Water, Energy & Environment at the National Transformation Institute, where he bridges the technical demands of Saudi Arabia's landmark giga-projects, including NEOM, with the research expertise of KAUST faculty, fostering institutional synergies that advance the Kingdom's transformation agenda. Before this role, Dr. Wali served as Strategic Partnership and Operations Manager at the KAUST Solar Center (KSC), where he led the centre's external engagement strategy and oversaw the management of a 3,400 m² laboratory complex, including a cleanroom facility, with a team of eight specialists. During this tenure he founded the PV Design School, an initiative designed to build photovoltaic design competencies among KAUST students and engineers across the Kingdom. He also previously served as Business Manager of the KSC, managing the centre's operational budget, research grants and competitive funding portfolios while overseeing talent acquisition. Earlier in his career, Dr. Wali spent seven years at KAUST's Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC) as Center Operations Manager, where he was instrumental in establishing the centre's laboratories and pilot-scale facilities from the ground up. He is widely recognised as one of KAUST's institutional pioneers, having contributed directly to the commissioning and operation of multiple core research infrastructures, including the university's cleanroom core lab, WDRC facilities and KSC laboratories. Dr. Wali holds Master's and PhD degrees, with research spanning water treatment and energy systems. His academic and professional journey has taken him across leading global institutions and industry partners, including the University of the Punjab, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, the University of Twente, BASF, IMEC, Philips/NXP Semiconductors and ENOWA-NEOM, an experience base that positions him to connect fundamental research with large-scale industrial and national development priorities.