Wyatt Roy is the Head of Innovation at NEOM, the largest and most ambitious project in Saudi Arabia. Situated on the Red Sea in northwest Saudi Arabia, NEOM, meaning ‘New Future,’ spans an area approximately the size of Belgium. This groundbreaking initiative aims to create a new economic model for both the country and the world by addressing some of humanity’s most pressing challenges through unprecedented innovation, imagination, and creativity.

With an extensive background in developing innovation strategies at the highest policy-making levels, Wyatt has been a prominent figure in both government and corporate sectors. At the age of 20, he made history as the youngest person ever elected to the Australian Parliament. By 25, he was appointed the youngest Minister in the history of the Commonwealth, serving as Australia’s inaugural Minister for Innovation.

During his tenure as an Australian government minister, Wyatt was instrumental in the creation of the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA), a landmark AUD 1.1 billion initiative comprising 24 policies across nine government departments. This initiative was designed to bolster innovation and entrepreneurship, incentivise investment, and foster increased collaboration between businesses, universities, government bodies, and the research sector to commercialise ideas and solve complex problems. He also chaired the House and Senate’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, oversaw three major free trade agreements with South Korea, Japan, and China, and supervised the parliamentary review, implementation, and oversight of the Australia-India Nuclear Co-operation Agreement.

After his political career, Wyatt served as the Managing Director for Australia at Afiniti, a multi-billion-dollar US-based AI company specialising in optimising customer interactions for large corporations. He has held roles including Executive Director of the Tech Council of Australia, Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company, and Strategic Advisor to SunDrive Solar, an Australian solar company that developed the world’s most efficient commercial-sized solar cell.

In recognition of his contributions, Wyatt was named GQ Magazine’s Politician of the Year in 2010 and was included in Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 Asia list.

 Wyatt Roy