We're a software firm opening in Riyadh. Is that work you take?

Yes, for the country manager and the first senior seats. Your first hires decide the next three years.

Sectors | Technology entrants and regulated seats

CTO, CISO and country manager search for technology firms entering the Gulf.

Country managers and first engineering and sales leaders for technology firms entering the Gulf, and the CTO, CISO and Head of AI seats a regulator names.

Seats like these open quietly. Open to a move? Talk to me in confidence.

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Last reviewed 31 October 2026, the date of the market facts on this page.

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The seats

Country manager and general manager for a technology entrant
First head of engineering, first head of sales and solutions
CTO for a licensed or regulated firm
CISO and head of information security
Head of AI and data protection leads

What is driving hiring, and the timelines

Entrants keep arriving. DIFC counted 1,677 AI and fintech firms at the end of 2025, up 35% (DIFC, via Dubai Media Office).
The security pool is short. Deloitte reports that Saudi Arabia's cyber shortage has passed 18,000 professionals (Deloitte, March 2026).
Senior AI pay is high. Head or Director of AI in the UAE: AED 70,000 to 120,000 a month (Michael Page UAE Salary Guide 2026, via Arabian Business).

How I work here

Retained search for the leadership seat, with a talent map first. No volume hiring.

Questions clients ask

We're a software firm opening in Riyadh. Is that work you take?: Yes, for the country manager and the first senior seats. Your first hires decide the next three years.

Retained search. A fee on signing, a shortlist date in writing, the balance on the start date, a six-month replacement. The terms

Brief me on a technology entrants and regulated seats seat

The more you tell me, the more useful my first reply. I'll come back within one working day.

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Please keep this search confidential

Seats I search for in this family

Country manager and general manager for a technology entrant
First head of engineering, first head of sales and solutions
CTO for a licensed or regulated firm
CISO and head of information security
Head of AI and data protection leads

Most of these searches are confidential and never advertised. Published ones are on the careers page.

What they pay

Seat	Published pay	Source
CISO, UAE	Average base AED 305,600 a year; top tenth about AED 986,000	Published figure: PayScale
CISO, Saudi Arabia	Average base SAR 620,500 a year	Published figure: PayScale
Head or director of AI, UAE	AED 70,000 to 120,000 a month	Published figure: Michael Page UAE Salary Guide 2026, via Arabian Business

Published figures from the sources named, not my own data. Base pay unless stated; Gulf packages usually add housing, transport and schooling. For your own seat, ask for a confidential market check.

How a confidential conversation works

A call, not a form. What you run today, what you would move for, and what you would not.
Nothing shared without your say-so. Your profile goes to a client only with your permission for that one role.
The real package, in writing, before you interview: base, housing, schooling, bonus and relocation.
The move handled: notice, visas and family questions, into or out of the Gulf.
You never pay a fee.

Sources

Dubai Media Office, DIFC annual results for 2025
Deloitte, "Tackling the cybersecurity talent gap in the Middle East", March 2026
Arabian Business, UAE salary guide 2026

A first Gulf hire, or a seat the regulator wants named?

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