Khalil Al Sedais named KPMG's country leader in Saudi Arabia

Summary

• KPMG appointed Khalil Al Sedais as Country Leader for Saudi Arabia, the firm announced.
• The move accompanies Islam Al Bayaa formally taking office as CEO of KPMG Middle East.
• Saudi Arabia is the largest market in a six-country network employing more than 5,000 people.

The latest

Khalil Al Sedais has been appointed Country Leader for Saudi Arabia at KPMG, the firm said, placing a 22-year veteran of its audit and advisory practice at the head of its largest Gulf market. The appointment was announced as Islam Al Bayaa formally assumed the role of CEO of KPMG Middle East on 1 October.

Details

• The appointment: KPMG said Al Sedais will lead the firm's business in Saudi Arabia, with a mandate centred on clients, people, growth and the continued development of KPMG's capabilities inside the Kingdom. The firm did not set out a defined term for the role or name the predecessor he succeeds.
• The profile: Al Sedais brings more than 22 years of experience in audit and advisory services, according to KPMG. He has served as Regional Managing Partner for Riyadh since 2013, one of the firm's longest continuous leadership tenures in the Saudi market, and sits on the board of the KPMG Middle East firm.
• Committee roles: Beyond his client-facing responsibilities, Al Sedais chairs KPMG's Advisory Quality Committee and its Nationalization Committee, the firm said. The second portfolio ties directly to Saudi workforce localisation requirements that professional services firms operating in the Kingdom are expected to meet.
• Professional credentials: He is a Certified Public Accountant registered with the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants, known as SOCPA, and serves as a board member of the Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers, TAQEEM, the body that regulates the valuation profession in the Kingdom.
• The CEO transition: Islam Al Bayaa's appointment as CEO of KPMG Middle East was announced on 15 May 2026, with the firm confirming at the time that he would take office effective 1 October. He has now formally assumed the position, KPMG said.
• The scale: Al Bayaa will lead KPMG Middle East across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, overseeing a firm of more than 5,000 people spread across ten offices. KPMG did not break down headcount or office numbers by individual country.
• The structure: The two announcements were issued together, pairing the regional chief executive handover with a country-level leadership appointment in the network's biggest market. KPMG did not disclose whether further country leader appointments are planned across the remaining five markets.
• The context: Saudi Arabia anchors the six-country regional structure Al Bayaa now heads, and the country leader role carries responsibility for growth in a market where audit, advisory and valuation work is governed by SOCPA and TAQEEM, both bodies on which Al Sedais holds standing.

Background

KPMG Middle East operates as a single regional firm spanning six countries rather than as separate national practices, which concentrates strategy at the regional chief executive level while country leaders carry responsibility for growth and client relationships in individual markets.

Between the lines

Al Sedais arrives in the role from inside the Saudi practice rather than from outside it, having run the Riyadh office since 2013 and sat on the regional board. His chairmanship of the Nationalization Committee and his seat on TAQEEM's board signal that regulatory standing and localisation delivery are treated as core to the country leadership brief, not peripheral to it.

What's next

Watch for KPMG's disclosure of Saudi headcount and office expansion under the new structure, any further country leader appointments across the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, and Al Bayaa's first strategy statement as regional CEO.

Source: KPMG official press release via ZAWYA