MBZUAI board change signals new phase in university's development

New board of trustees supports the AI university's global ascent

MBZUAI Board of Trustees new chairman and members

The appointment of a new board of trustees for Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), could mark a new phase in the development of the institution, both reinforcing its global standing with the addition of AMD’s CEO Dr Lisa Su, and its close alignment to the emirate’s AI investment strategies.

A new resolution has been issued to reconstitute the Board of Trustees of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), replacing a board that has remain largely unchanged since the legal formation of the university in 2019, under Law No. (25) of 2019 issued by the late ruler of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The new board arguably moves the university closer to Abu Dhabi’s core executive and investment leadership, and may signal a new phase for the institution, that aligns tightly with the emirate’s investment and economic development. The new board is also sure to capture the global technology sector’s attention, with the addition of AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su, who last visited the UAE in November.

Under the directives of President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, issued the resolution to reconstitute the Board of Trustees. Among other responsibilities Sheikh Tahnoon is Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC) and MGX, Abu Dhabi’s global AI and technology investment fund, both formed last year. He is also chairman of home-grown AI-powerhouse G42.

What’s changed with the formation of a new board of trustees?

The university’s new board of trustees is nine members-strong, making it the largest so far. The formation of the new board sees four of the longest standing trustees leave: Sir Michael Brady, professor of Oncological Imaging at the University of Oxford, (and former interim president of MBZUAI); Professor Anil K. Jain, a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University; and Beijing-based Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures.

The move also sees the departure of His Excellency Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, who has chaired the board of trustees since it was formed in 2019.

Now chaired by His Excellency Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the board includes no less than seven new members (including its chair). One of Abu Dhabi’s most recognizable faces globally, Mubarak is Group CEO of Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, chairman of Abu Dhabi Investment Council, member of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, vice-chairman of MGX, a board member of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), and G42 Group, among other leading organisations in the UAE capital.

In addition to Mubarak, new appointments to the board are:

• His Excellency Jassem Mohamed Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, chair of Abu Dhabi's Department of Finance, chair of UAE telecom group e&, a board member of MGX, and a member of the board of AIATC;

• His Excellency Saif Saeed Ghobash, Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council;

• Rima Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Executive Director of the Strategic Affairs Unit of the Executive Affairs Authority (EAA), co-chair of Ideas Abu Dhabi, and member of the Zayed University board of trustees;

• Dr Lisa Su, CEO of US semiconductor giant AMD (Advanced Micro Devices);

• Martin Edelman, Group General Counsel at G42 Group, a board member of MGX, and partner at global law firm Paul Hastings; and

• Professor Eric Xing, president of MBZUAI.

Continuing in their roles on the board of trustees are Professor Daniela Rus, Director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory; and Peng Xiao, Group CEO of G42 and board member of MGX and the AIATC.

Key to future investment and development plans

With the appointment of four out of five members of the MGX board to the new MBZUAI board of trustees, and the presence of four members closely involved in Abu Dhabi emirate’s development strategy, it’s clear that the coming phase of MBZUAI’s growth is seen as key to Abu Dhabi’s future plans. Although the university was first established under the direction of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, and so has always received support from the highest levels, much has changed over the past five years.

Enabled by billions of dollars of government investment, Abu Dhabi’s technology investment strategies - at home and abroad - have proved themselves, establishing the emirate as a regional and global hub for AI-related investment, digital transformation and R&D. The emirate recently announced plans to invest $3.54 billion in integrating AI throughout digital government systems and services. Critical to both the huge investment in AI and its outcomes, has been Abu Dhabi’s ability to attract global talent and develop local talent.

Abu Dhabi’s bold plan to create the world’s first graduate-level AI research university has also begun to pay off. MBZUAI not only now provides a pipeline of Masters’ and PhD graduates for the UAE, but it has been pivotal in preparing executive leadership across government and public sectors in the country, to lead in the new AI era. MBZUAI has also become a globally rated producer of AI-related research, and recently a new hub for AI startups.

A contributor to Abu Dhabi’s global AI influence

The past five years has seen Abu Dhabi not only invest deeper in artificial intelligence technology for its own use, but also become a key enabler of technology development globally, and is beginning to play a key role in bringing AI infrastructure and solutions to UAE trade partners in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Last year, Abu Dhabi formed MGX to invest up to $100 billion in global AI infrastructure, semiconductor, and core AI technologies.

MBZUAI’s name has been mentioned in connection to a number of bilateral agreements. For example in October, Nanda, the world’s most advanced open-source Hindi large language model, was open-sourced under the university's Institute of Foundation Models. The Nanda model was developed by G42’s applied research arm Inception in collaboration with MBZUAI, as part of a UAE bilateral agreement with the government of India on digital infrastructure.

Meanwhile, MBZUAI’s academic standing continues to grow. Last month MBZUAI hosted COLING, one of the world's most influential conferences for natural language processing and computational linguistics (an important focus for the university). The global event brought together more than 1,500 attendees and 850+ papers. Universities across the world seem keen to partner with MBZUAI on research projects, due to its world-class talent and resources.

A touch of star-power

Without doubt, the most unexpected new addition to the MBZUAI board of trustees is Dr Lisa Su, CEO of multinational semiconductor company AMD and TIME CEO of the Year 2024. Appointed as the CEO when AMD stock sold for just $3 per share, Su has been the driving force behind the US technology company’s change in fortunes over the past ten years. The company plans to announce its fourth quarter 2024 results on February 4th, with an expected $7.5 billion in revenues and an expected year-on-year growth of 22 percent for that quarter.

AMD has doubled down on the new evolving needs for AI infrastructure, introducing innovative new offerings over the past year at both the PC level and for high performance data centres. According to analysts, the Santa Clara-headquartered firm now seems to be very well positioned for growth in the AI and data centre space.

Meanwhile, Su has joined the ranks of tech royalty, frequently seen on global television news, on the main stage for events such as CES and SWSX, feted as 2024 Financial Times Women of the Year, and ranked 26th out of 100 on Forbes 2024 World's Most Powerful Women list.

With leaders from both global and regional AI industry, decision-makers in global and local AI investment, and key players in shaping the economic future of Abu Dhabi, MBZUAI couldn’t ask for a higher-powered board of trustees. The make-up of the new board both ensures that the university remains integral to Abu Dhabi’s AI plans and that it is well-represented on the global stage. Industry watchers, global academia and leading researchers will be keen to learn what MBZUAI does next.

Read more about Abu Dhabi’s AI strategy ecosystem:

• Abu Dhabi to form Smart & Autonomous Systems Council (Middle East AI News)

• Abu Dhabi forms global technology investment company (Middle East AI News)

• Abu Dhabi forms AI and Advanced Technology Council (Middle East AI News)

• R&D moves up Abu Dhabi's agenda (Middle East AI News)