I worked in the defence sector for many years and worked with many, many people who went there. In summary, the organisations typically comprised a third Saudis, a third long-term ex-pats and a third were simply there for the money. Many of the Saudis were only interested in being ‘in charge’ but often lacked the knowledge or education to be effective, often in post due to family connections rather than ability – holding VP job titles and some kept well-away from doing any damage. The long-termers were often there because they were unemployable elsewhere and institutionalised – some with serious alcohol or behavioural issues. The last group were often there simply for the money, either bursting with ambition or having the dawning realisation they were working for a completely disfunctional organisation. Sometimes, partners and families found it difficult to adjust to “compound” life – moving back to the UK.

I thought from the start it was someone’s vanity project.

Saudis get jammed into “do nothing” and “no show” jobs because of Saudization. Many employers just see it as a kind of tax and are happy if they don’t interfere too much. Sometimes there just aren’t suitably qualified Saudis in the industry – so what do you do if you’re in a niche consultancy and supposed to have x% Saudis?

I worked with some very capable “locals” in the Gulf who were just as good as the foreigners but I could totally have understood if they had taken the other route of cruising along like many of their compatriots. I probably would have done the same if it had been open to me (and tbf I was spending most of my “work” time dicking around on forums anyway…).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudization