na SEDCO – Saudi Economic and Development Company – was founded in 1976 by the late Sheikh Salem Bin Mahfouz, growing from a small trading and construction contracting business in Jeddah to become one of Saudi Arabia’s largest conglomerates and a global force in Shariah-compliant private wealth management. _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ Sheikh Salem’s life story is a remarkable tale of vision and commitment that enabled him to overcome a lack of schooling and an impoverished childhood to become founder and chairman of the National Commercial Bank (NCB), the first Saudi bank which was established in 1953 and grew to become the Middle East’s largest financial institution. _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ When Sheikh Salem died in 1994, his estate was inherited by his widow, five sons, and seven daughters. While his son Kahlid decided to concentrate his assets in the National Commercial Bank, the rest of the family concentrated their assets in SEDCO. In 1996 they formed the first SEDCO Board of Directors consisting of the four brothers – Mohammed, Saleh, Abdelelah, and Ahmed – as well as four members from the local and international business leadership._x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ Meantime, the scale and diversity of SEDCO’s operations grew apace, focusing on long-term investments and trade opportunities. After the death of Sheikh Salem, the Company’s first Executive Committee was formed, followed by reorganization as a holding company and the establishment of the first Board of Directors, including non-family members. With Sheikh Mohammed as Chairman and Sheikhs Saleh, Abdelelah and Ahmed as members of the Board, the Company set up new strategies for growth and progress, based on Shariah-compliance, corporate governance and restructuring. _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ _x005F_x000D_ Sheikh Mohammad led the transformation of SEDCO into a pioneering world corporation, diversifying steadily into virtually every asset class available to private and institutional investors, in the process becoming a major wealth management organization working on behalf of the Bin Mahfouz family.