The King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) Chief Information Officer (CIO) was awarded the 2009 CIO of the Year by Forrester Research and the InfoTech newsmagazine Computer News Middle East (CNME). Dr. Sadiq M. Sait was selected for the prestigious award for the universities/academic institutions category as the CIO of the Year in the entire Middle East. The award committee identified 20 CIOs for the award from Middle East organizations belonging to various business categories. Of the 20 nominations considered, Sadiq was the only university CIO who qualified from the entire Middle East and made it in the first round, and was finally selected. An interesting fact deserving mention was that from the Saudi Arabia alone there were over 165 government agencies and several hundred private organizations that were eligible for nomination. Forrester Research, Inc., an independent global research company, was involved in analysis of project submissions for the award. Forrester provides advice to global leaders in business and technology and works with professionals in many key roles at major companies providing proprietary research, customer insight, consulting, and various executive programs. The annual award recognizes individuals and organizations that exemplify the highest level of strategic and operational excellence in Information Technology (IT). The prestigious awards were presented in a grand ceremony held in Dubai on Nov. 18. “This award is a true tribute to the KFUPM teams, both IT and functional, for their meticulous planning and orchestration of the IT initiatives undertaken,” said Sait. “As an example, Project Raed turned out to be one of the most innovative initiatives we have ever had at KFUPM. The university realized significant cost savings, and further anticipates additional savings due to the rapid adoption of these solutions throughout our organization.”
