Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Leadership in art services management: Leads a specialist art services team providing guidance and support for art strategy, financial modelling and visual arts production for public art, art collections and exhibition programmes across all NEOM regions and sectors. Driving NEOM’s mission to being a global culture capital. • Cultural asset development: Initiated NEOM’s Entertainment and Culture sector’s cultural asset development function. Resourced and appointed technical experts for cultural asset integration with stakeholders for design of The LINE. Produced and managed successful next-generation culture and entertainment content ideation programmes • Public art procurement expertise: Developed NEOM’s overarching public art visioning and guidelines for high-level creative positioning and aligned procurement methodology. Delivered guidelines to multiple stakeholders with considerable success in practical engagement and application. • Mega-scale project management: PMO Deputy Programme Director for Riyadh Art PMO, the world’s largest singular public art programme operating off $1.6B budget delivering 1000+ landmark artworks via 10 concurrent programmes. • Extensive art, design and construction industry experience: Over 30 years of experience operating in both supplier and client functions, across multiple international regions, including Europe, the Middle East, and the USA. • Senior management and director-level experience: Expertise in design management, technical sales, and project management / services management in senior positions. • Educational background: Holds a Bachelor of Design with Honours from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee, Scotland
Creative industries procurement requires bringing together the diverse worlds of Culture & Art, Urban Design and Planning and Construction. Rob founded IPA to facilitate procurement of creative outcomes for Urban Developments, and introducing international market leaders in Art, Design and Production to developers, Project Management Companies and Lead Consultants for high quality projects in Europe and Middle East territories. Partner companies include, Limah Design, Walnut TMA and UAP, who IPA collaborate with to manage an extraordinary array of talent and resource and which responds to creative outcome requirements within the public realm. Establishing contextual strategy and methodology empowers clients with clear vision for delivery, and paves the way to a procurement pathway which is consistent and integrates within wider development programmes.
Leading art services within NEOM's Entertainment and Culture sector, Rob is accountable for strategy, development and delivery of public and collection art for The LINE whilst supporting art services across NOEM regions and sector stakeholders.
Part of the Proger delivery team for Royal Commission for Riyadh City (RCRC), I am Deputy Program Director for the delivery of Public Art within the Riyadh Art Program, a pillar of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 strategy.