I've spent my career working with entrepreneurs across the public and private sector who shape city dynamics — producing analytics and media, writing stories and ideas, developing influence and networks. What I offer is the ability to see what a project could become — and the tools to make the case.
Benchmarking, positioning, and the argument for why culture isn't optional.
Vision 2030, mega-projects, and the urbanisation story reshaping the Middle East.
Destination strategy and cultural tourism, grounded in data and site experience.
Interactive tools that make complex questions visible.
Research and editorial intelligence for long-form storytelling.
Persuasion, brand, and influence — taught at USC and applied with senior leaders.
Each week I publish a piece of original analysis on something I'm working on, thinking about, or have just come back from. It pairs what I've seen and heard with data and interactive tools — because the interesting things happen where experience meets evidence.
The Line is suspended. Trojena is mothballed. But something more commercially coherent is emerging at Oxagon — and it tells you more about Saudi Arabia's real strategy than the megaproject theatre ever did.
NEOM is being gradually repositioned from a futuristic city to an industrial and digital infrastructure zone. The centrepiece is no longer The Line — it's a constellation of data centre, hydrogen, and port projects at Oxagon, backed by HUMAIN, PIF's AI infrastructure company.
HUMAIN has committed over $40 billion to AI infrastructure, signed partnerships with xAI, AWS, NVIDIA, AMD, Qualcomm, and Groq, and begun constructing 11 data centres across two campuses. DataVolt has signed a $5 billion deal for a 1.5GW AI data centre campus at Oxagon, due to begin operations in 2028.
Oxagon's port is 68% complete with cargo operations underway. The green hydrogen plant is 80% built. The renewable energy grid (4GW solar and wind) is under construction. These are physical facts, not press releases.
But the talent gap is severe — a 50% hiring shortfall in AI roles. NEOM's track record of announced partnerships that never materialise creates justified scepticism.
The pivot from hyperreal megaproject to AI infrastructure is a more realistic proposition. But to attract talent and draw in further investment, NEOM still needs a city — one with the features The Line aspired to: proximity, culture, innovation and a vision of the future.
Nine factors industry consensus identifies as critical for AI data centre siting. Rated 1–5; higher is better on every axis.
Source: Global Cities synthesis of Kearney, Cushman & Wakefield, JLL, S&P Global, and AAF methodologies.
I take on a small number of advisory and research clients at any time. If something here is relevant to a challenge you're facing — or if you just want to talk about cities — I'm easy to reach.