As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes global capital markets, leadership capability must evolve just as quickly.
In January 2026, the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in Saudi Arabia took a bold step forward – immersing senior leaders in a GenAI-focused executive education experience powered by Aeqlia’s MAVERICK business simulation.
The programme was led by Samir El Masri, delivered in Arabic, and developed in partnership with BTO (Markus Keiper, Michael Alf, and Rob Thurner) and Emeritus as part of CMA’s broader executive education and leadership development agenda.
Designed to move beyond theory and into practice, the programme helped leaders experience the strategic, ethical, and organisational implications of GenAI – before facing them in real life.
Many leadership programmes address AI through frameworks, presentations, or case discussions. CMA’s ambition went further.
The objective was clear:
Help leaders think, decide, and lead in GenAI-enabled environments
Make trade-offs visible across strategy, governance, risk, and talent
Build confidence navigating uncertainty in high-stakes regulatory contexts
Rather than teaching GenAI concepts in isolation, the programme placed participants inside a realistic, evolving business scenario, where AI adoption directly influenced outcomes, stakeholder trust, and long-term value creation.
At the core of the programme was MAVERICK, Aeqlia’s advanced business simulation designed for senior leaders navigating disruption.
Through the simulation, participants:
Made strategic decisions under time pressure and uncertainty
Experienced the ripple effects of GenAI adoption across systems and teams
Balanced innovation with regulatory responsibility and public trust
Reflected collectively on leadership behaviours, assumptions, and biases
Crucially, the simulation created safe space for experimentation – allowing leaders to test bold ideas, learn from consequences, and refine their thinking together.
The programme was delivered in Arabic, ensuring accessibility, depth of discussion, and cultural relevance for participants.
Facilitated within an executive education setting, the experience combined immersive simulation with structured reflection and sense-making – supporting leaders not just in understanding GenAI, but in leading responsibly with it.
This approach enabled rich dialogue around leadership judgement, decision-making under uncertainty, and the real organisational implications of GenAI adoption within a regulatory environment.
This initiative was made possible through close collaboration across a strong partner ecosystem.
BTO played a key role in shaping and supporting the programme design, bringing deep expertise in leadership development and executive education. Emeritus supported the broader executive education framework, ensuring the experience aligned with CMA’s long-term leadership capability agenda.
Together with Aeqlia, the partners ensured the experience was not only engaging, but also grounded, relevant, and impactful for senior leaders.
GenAI presents leaders with non-linear challenges – where decisions compound quickly, outcomes are uncertain, and traditional playbooks fall short.
Business simulations like MAVERICK make these dynamics visible by:
Accelerating cause-and-effect learning
Surfacing real leadership tensions and trade-offs
Enabling collective reflection and shared understanding
Bridging strategy, technology, and human judgment
For CMA, this approach transformed GenAI from an abstract concept into a lived leadership experience.
As organisations across the Middle East navigate rapid technological change, CMA’s experience highlights a critical shift in leadership development – from learning about the future to practising leadership in it.
By combining immersive simulation, executive-level facilitation, and strong partnerships, the programme helped leaders build the confidence, clarity, and capability required to lead responsibly in an AI-enabled world.
Interested in exploring how simulation-based executive education can support GenAI-ready leadership in your organisation?
Get in touch to learn more about Aeqlia’s business simulations and leadership development programmes.
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