Dr. Houssam Al Masri is Design Director for Smart City & Mobility at Jeddah Central Development (JCDC), one of Saudi Arabia’s flagship urban regeneration projects under the Public Investment Fund (PIF). With over 30 years of experience in smart infrastructure, digital transformation, and broadband communications, he now focuses on advancing integrated, inclusive, and human-centered smart city ecosystems across the MENA region and beyond.

Dr. Al Masri also serves as Senior Project Manager – Power & Renewables (Smart City) at Khatib & Alami (K&A), where he has played a pivotal role in shaping the firm’s regional smart city practice since 2018. As a key leader within K&A’s infrastructure sector, he led the Smart City and Digital Infrastructure design for mega-developments including JCDC, overseeing cross-sectoral coordination across ICT, mobility, security, ESG, and digital twin frameworks. His efforts have directly contributed to K&A’s evolution into a regional leader in upstream smart city advisory, innovation-driven engineering, and integrated digital delivery.

Before assuming his current leadership roles, Dr. Al Masri built a distinguished career across both public and private sectors in the Middle East. From 2012 to 2017, he served as Electrical Service Manager at Saudi Oger, leading the design and implementation of FTTH, ELV, and smart building systems for the Ministries of Interior, Defense, and Education, including high-profile projects like Princess Nora University and KAP-1. Between 2007 and 2012, he was Managing Director of Alpinada Telematics in the UAE, where he oversaw the delivery of smart city and ICT infrastructure programs in collaboration with Cisco, QNBN, and Abu Dhabi Municipality.

Earlier in his career, he held senior technical and managerial positions with Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Mobitel Iraq, OGERO Lebanon, and COSMOS Engineers in the United States and the Levant. Across these roles, he contributed to the rollout of large-scale 3G mobile, fiber broadband, and satellite communication networks, serving millions of users across KSA, UAE, Lebanon, Iraq, and Central Africa.

Dr. Al Masri earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from MIT, where his doctoral research focused on real-time data analytics in IoT-enabled smart cities. He also holds a Master’s in IT Management from Anglia Ruskin University (UK) and a Bachelor’s in Telecommunications Engineering from Beirut Arab University.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Smart City Optics and Applications Committee at the Fiber Connect Council MENA, and as Co-Leader of the Digital Public Infrastructure Toolkit Working Group under the United for Smart Sustainable Cities (U4SSC) initiative. He is also an active contributor to the ISO Technical Committee on Smart and Sustainable Cities (ISO/TC 268), IEEE IT Society, ESRI GIS Professionals Network, and the Green Buildings Association.

Recognized as a regional thought leader in FTTH strategy, digital public infrastructure, and smart mobility integration, Dr. Al Masri continues to promote scalable, standards-based digital solutions that foster urban resilience, sustainability, and digital inclusion—bridging strategy with execution for future-ready cities.

What I Do

At Smart City Therapy, we help professionals, city officials, planners, and other stakeholders with the knowledge and skills needed to develop, implement and manage smart city initiatives effectively. As cities increasingly adopt smart technologies, it’s essential for those involved in their planning and operation to understand the complexities and opportunities these innovations bring.

Our training and consulting services are here to support your journey to Smart & Sustainable tomorrow’s excellence.