Dr. Tareq Mohammed Al-Suwaidan (Arabic: طارق محمد السويدان; born November 15, 1953) is a Kuwaiti entrepreneur, author and speaker, and a leader of the Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood. He is well known in the Middle East and in Muslim communities throughout the world for his management/strategic planning training, motivational speaking and television shows and appearances. According to Forbes magazine (Arabic edition: Forbes Arabia), Al-Suwaidan ranks second in annual net income among Islamic speakers in the Muslim world with an estimated net profit of $1 million in 2007.[1] Al-Suwaidan was trained in the classical Islamic sciences in his youth and lived and studied in the United States, having received a B.S. in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa.[2]
Al-Suwaidan is a TV personality, with TV shows ranking among the highest in ratings on Middle East satellite TV channels such as MBC, Abu Dhabi TV, Orbit, Dream, Iqra and Al-Resalah TV.[3][4][5] An estimated 10 million viewers tune in daily to his show on MBC annually in Ramadan[6]
Al-Suwaidan was formerly the General Manager of Al-Resalah Satellite TV, the brainchild of Saudi businessman Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.[7] In August 2013, Prince Talal fired Suwaidan for his role as the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait. Prince Talal wrote on his Twitter account that he sacked Tarek Al-Suwaidan "for admitting he belongs to the Brotherhood movement."[8]
Al-Suwaidan is a management, leadership and strategic planning consultant in the Middle East and is CEO of the Gulf Innovation Groups.[9] He is frequently consulted by prominent regional governmental and private sector organizations.[10] He is also the chairman of the AWARE (Advocates for Western-Arab Relations & Exchange) center in Kuwait.[11]
