Professor Al Lily has held a range of senior managerial roles, most recently serving as Vice President for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Research, and Graduate Studies at a university comprising nearly 1,500 researchers and 75 graduate programs. In this role, he led a comprehensive institutional transformation that positioned the university as a national and global leader, delivering substantial and sustained improvements across key performance indicators.

In innovation, he has led initiatives that have reshaped the University’s intellectual property ecosystem and secured multimillion-dollar (USD) funding within a single year. These efforts elevated the university to first place globally in the number of USA patents and made it the first Saudi university to receive international designation as an ‘Innovation District’.

In entrepreneurship, he has built a fully integrated ecosystem to convert academic ideas, research outcomes, and patents into high-growth ventures. As a result, the university has emerged as the national leader in university-based entrepreneurship, achieving 170% growth in startups and spintouts within one year. These ventures have reached a combined market valuation exceeding USD 50 million and led to the establishment of the university’s ‘Science Park’.

In research, he has attracted multimillion-dollar (USD) research funding in a single year. During his tenure, the university ranked ninth globally in clean energy research and achieved a sustained 50% annual increase in research output.

In graduate studies, he has overseen a comprehensive modernisation effort, including the launch and renewal of graduate programmes. Graduate program revenues exceeded multi-millions (USD) in one year, while financial aid for students in need increased by 55%, with annual support peaking at multimillion-dollar levels.

His leadership is characterizsd by simplifying processes, ensuring digital transformation, empowring talented individuals, and enaging in data-driven decision-making through clear, measurable performance indicators. Alongside his executive responsibilities, he continues to contribute as a consultant to international organisations and as a member of national policy-making committees.