Dr. Ghadah Alarifi is the founding dean of King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) school of public policy, leading a team tasked to create an institution that provides accredited graduate degrees and executive education in public policy – addressing current needs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia related to energy and sustainability policy analysis and development.

Prior to this, she held leadership roles at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), including Dean of the College of Business Administration and establishing the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center. Recognised for her contributions to human capital development, Dr. Alarifi holds a PhD in Management from University of London. She is an associate professor and actively researches entrepreneurship and sustainability.