Francesca Arici

Chief of Planning and Development

Francesca Arici is Chief of Planning and Development at the Aseer Development Authority, where she leads the integrated transformation of one of Saudi Arabia's most ecologically and culturally diverse regions under Vision 2030. An Italian urban planner, urban designer, and architect with more than twenty years of international experience, she has been based in Saudi Arabia since 2018. Before taking up her current post, she served as Senior Director of Master Planning and Design at Saudi Downtown Company, and earlier held both the Planning Director and Urban Planning Manager roles at the Royal Commission for AlUla, where she helped shape the early planning framework for that heritage destination. She is now based in Abha, directing planning work across Aseer's mountains, coastline, and historic town centres.