By Boudou Gueffai | Editor-in-Chief
RIYADH – A new force has entered Saudi Arabia’s creative and strategic landscape. KOPPEN STUDIO, the European-born creative powerhouse, has officially launched KOPPEN KSA through a strategic partnership with ALLIANCE Investment Holding (AIH), a move that signals serious intent to serve the Kingdom’s most demanding government, sovereign, and institutional clients.
The timing is significant. Saudi Arabia is in the midst of one of the most ambitious economic and social transformations in the modern era. Under Vision 2030, ministries, giga-projects, investment platforms, tourism destinations, cultural institutions, and private-sector champions are all competing on a global stage. That shift has created demand for a new generation of partners: firms able to combine international standards with local fluency, speed, trust, and measurable execution. KOPPEN KSA is entering the market with that proposition.
The story begins twenty years ago. Daniel Robert and Oscar Fernandez met at the height of the internet crash, two professionals bruised by market turbulence and wondering what came next. What followed was not retreat, but reinvention. Over the next two decades, they helped shape digital growth in Spain before expanding their experience across international markets and sectors.
In 2025, they met again, this time from two different vantage points: Saudi Arabia and London. One was operating at the center of a fast-moving Gulf market. The other was embedded in one of the world’s most competitive creative capitals. The question they asked each other was simple: why not build a new team and create the best work of our careers?
That question now has an answer.
KOPPEN KSA is operational, registered, and already delivering. The company represents a fresh creative proposition for Saudi Arabia, combining European expertise with deep local market knowledge, backed by strategic partners who understand both global excellence and the national ambitions driving Vision 2030.
The Founders
Oscar Fernandez arrives with more than 30 years of experience as a C-level director, advisor, and board member to international companies across advertising, logistics, operations, and strategic growth. He has one foot in the Middle East and another in Europe, an increasingly valuable combination in a world where markets are interconnected but cultural fluency remains rare.
In the Kingdom, as CEO at one of the most important Saudi branding companies in the market, he led multiple giga and mega public and private sector entities’ projects: Ministry of Investment, Made in Saudi, KAFD, King Salman Park, Riyadh Digital City, Shareek (PIF), Havas, BCG… The list reads like a directory of Saudi Arabia’s most consequential transformation projects.
Those names matter not only for prestige, but because they represent the new Saudi economy in motion: investment attraction, urban development, sports expansion, sovereign partnerships, and national branding at scale.
Daniel Robert brings a different but complementary energy. Based in London, he is an award-winning creative director for digital and brand with a documented appetite for fast-moving startups, crypto, emerging technologies, and generative AI. His client roster includes Google, EE, BT, Levi’s, major branding agencies, and a portfolio of startups navigating competitive growth cycles.
His presence on design platforms has made him something of a tastemaker, someone the creative world watches to see where the industry heads next. In a market like Saudi Arabia, where global relevance increasingly matters alongside local authenticity, that perspective has value.
Together, Fernandez and Robert bring a blend of operating discipline, commercial pragmatism, and creative ambition.
The Strategic Partnership
What elevates KOPPEN KSA beyond a standard market entry is its structural alliance with ALLIANCE Investment Holding (AIH).
Dr. Eng. Turki Al-Qahtani did not simply sign a partnership agreement. He identified a capability gap in the market and moved to fill it with precision.
Saudi Arabia’s transformation has generated demand not only for contractors, consultants, and investors, but for trusted strategic partners who can help institutions communicate, position, launch, scale, and build durable reputations. In many sectors, the challenge is no longer access to capital or ambition. It is execution quality.
Speaking to The Saudi Times, Dr. Al-Qahtani explained the rationale:
“We act as a trusted Saudi platform for international companies seeking structured market entry, strategic partnerships, and long-term value creation in the Kingdom. KOPPEN brings strong creative capabilities, and our role is to align this expertise with the right opportunities, partners, and market direction.”
This is not consultant language. It is the vocabulary of institutional Saudi Arabia: ROI, trust, long-term partnership, capability, and outcomes.
Dr. Al-Qahtani’s involvement provides KOPPEN KSA with something that takes years to build and cannot be purchased quickly: established relationships with government entities, regulatory fluency, practical local knowledge, and the credibility that comes from demonstrated execution inside the Kingdom.
That combination can be decisive in Saudi Arabia’s current market environment, where timing matters, standards are rising, and serious mandates increasingly go to firms able to move beyond presentation into delivery.
The Saudi Proposition
Oscar Fernandez’s four years at the helm of a leading Saudi branding firm produced measurable results: 3.5x business growth, with more than 30 projects annually for PIF, government entities, and ministries.
But numbers tell only part of the story.
When The Saudi Times asked what allows KOPPEN to operate effectively in this market, Fernandez pointed to something less quantifiable:
“The warmth, the roots, the legacy, these are not marketing concepts here. They are the foundation of how business is conducted. Our role is to blend that with global creative standards. Not to replace Saudi identity, but to amplify it with perfect harmony.”
That statement reflects a truth many new entrants learn late.
Saudi Arabia does not need imported identity. It already possesses one of the strongest cultural identities in the region. What it increasingly seeks are partners capable of translating that identity into world-class experiences, brands, institutions, and narratives without diluting its character.
This matters for government clients. Ministries and sovereign funds do not hire agencies to impose foreign aesthetics. They hire partners who understand that Vision 2030 is not a rebranding exercise. It is a national transformation with cultural parameters, economic priorities, and reputational stakes that must be respected.
Operational Reality
KOPPEN KSA is not announcing future intentions. It is describing current operations.
The entity is registered, staffed, and actively delivering high-value projects for government and private-sector clients. In a crowded market where many announcements remain aspirational, operational readiness is itself a differentiator.
Oscar Fernandez’s appointment as a Board Member at ALLIANCE further cements the integration. This is not a loose affiliation or referral arrangement, but a structural commitment to shared outcomes, aligned incentives, and long-term market presence.
For government procurement officers and ministry decision-makers evaluating creative and strategic partners, KOPPEN KSA presents a clear value proposition: European creative methodology, digital innovation, and commercial rigor delivered through a Saudi operational framework with proven government experience and established stakeholder relationships.
The Market Context
Saudi Arabia’s creative services market is increasingly crowded with international entrants making promises. Many arrive with glossy credentials and ambitious announcements. Fewer arrive with leadership that understands how the Kingdom actually works.
What distinguishes KOPPEN KSA is the combination of factors that reduce risk for institutional clients: a founder with documented Saudi government project experience, a local strategic partner with existing relationships, active operational status rather than “coming soon,” and a leadership structure that includes board-level representation within the Saudi partner organization.
In today’s Saudi market, credibility is increasingly practical rather than theoretical.
For Vision 2030’s most ambitious initiatives, from giga-projects and ministry transformations to sovereign fund communications, investment platforms, destination branding, and cultural launches, the question is no longer whether international creative excellence is available in the Kingdom.
The question is whether it can be delivered with the cultural fluency, execution speed, commercial discipline, and institutional credibility that Saudi Arabia now demands.
KOPPEN KSA is betting that its answer to that question will define the next phase of its founders’ careers.
Edited by Abeer Abdalla – Managing Editor
