Quick Facts
Biography
Faisal Al Bannai is an Emirati business executive who is secretary general of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) and chairman of the board of directors of EDGE Group.
Career
Faisal Al Bannai is currently chairman of the board of directors of EDGE Group, an advanced technology group based in the UAE that develops disruptive solutions for defence and beyond. EDGE, a state-owned conglomerate, was publicly made known by Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Alongside his position at EDGE, Al Bannai is Secretary-General of the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) in Abu Dhabi.
In his role as Secretary-General of the ATRC, Al Bannai is also a member of the Emirates Research and Development Council, chaired by Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Council aims to strengthen the governance of the UAE's research and development sector and to unify efforts and monitor performance in this field.
Al Bannai became Axiom Telecom's managing director in 2016.
In April 2024, Al Bannai was appointed as Advisor to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs, with the rank of Minister as per a federal decree issued by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Faisal was included in Time's 2024 list of the "100 Most Influential People in AI".
Board positions
Since 2005, member of the board, Axiom Telecom.
In April 2020, Al Bannai assumed the additional role as a member of the board of trustees of Khalifa University of Science and Technology.
In May 2020, he was named secretary general of Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), issued by Law No.14 for 2020 by UAE president, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan while retaining his various other positions and role as CEO of EDGE.
In October 2020, Al Bannai became a board member with the UAE Space Agency.
In April 2021, he was appointed as a board member at the United Arab Emirates University.
In January 2022, Al Bannai was appointed as chairman of the board of directors of EDGE Group.
In January 2022, Al Bannai was appointed as a board member of the Emirates Research and Development Council.
Education
Al Bannai graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance from Boston University. He has also earned a master's degree in Shipping Trade and Finance from City, University of London.
