Issam Al Zahid is chairman of the Alzahid Group of Companies, launched in Saudi Arabia in 1951 with Alzahid Construction. At that time, the firm was involved in town planning, as well as the construction of buildings, roads, and other facilities. It also had the honourable distinction of being the first company to build coast guard stations along the shoreline of Saudi Arabia. By 1958, the company was in full swing, building everything from bridges to tunnels and flyovers — indeed much of the basic transport infrastructure upon which the kingdom still relies.

Today, the diversified conglomerate has over 31,000 employees and significant interests in mining, logistics, oil and gas, industry, manufacturing, IT, foodstuffs, retail and many other sectors.

The group has continued to grow and although privately owned, said its full year profit in 2008 increased by eleven percent compared to the previous year while international investment turnover increased 6.4 percent compared to the previous year.