Falcon's Beyond promotes Saham Ali to CTO

Falcon’s Beyond Global, a fully integrated development enterprise for IP-driven parks, resorts, media and merchandise, has announced the promotion of Saham Ali to chief technology officer.

In this newly created role, Ali will deploy technology strategies and innovation throughout the company to develop distinctive experiences in themed entertainment and interactive attractions.

Leveraging the latest technologies

Previously executive vice president of technology, Ali has played a pivotal role in defining Falcon’s technology vision and driving operational excellence.

As CTO, he will continue to spearhead initiatives with potential to further the company’s product offerings in AI-driven personalisation, connected experiences, real-time rendering, robotics, ride systems, extended reality (XR), generative AI, and more.

Cecil D. Magpuri, CEO of Falcon’s Beyond, says: "Technology is the heartbeat of immersive storytelling.

"I have worked closely with Saham for over a decade, and he has been a driving force behind our product offerings in XR and real-time graphics pipelines.

"As well, he has continued to be a leader in the industry by successfully leveraging the latest technological platforms to power next-generation attractions.

"His leadership has also optimized complex creative workflows, integrated enterprise IT with robotics and media systems, and introduced efficiencies across global production environments.

"In this extended role, Saham will ensure that we are in the best position to deliver unique experiences for our customers and set new standards in the themed entertainment and interactive attractions industry."

Pushing the boundaries of immersive entertainment

With almost 25 years of experience in production and technology leadership, Ali has deep knowledge of visual effects (VFX), real-time rendering, high-performance computing (HPC), and immersive technologies.

Before joining Falcon’s Beyond, he developed innovative workflows for VFX education, such as VR and 3D printing labs, and contributed to prominent television productions like Hawaii Five-0, Outsourced, and Star Trek: New Voyages. His film credits include Red Tails for Lucasfilm.

A notable achievement is Ali's conversion of a 14,000-core supercomputer into a public render compute infrastructure, far before the cloud computing era.

Ali is a member of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA), Visual Effects Society (VES), and SIGGRAPH and speaks at sector events such as INFOCOMM, IAAPA Expo, NAB Show, Synapse Orlando, and Techonomy.

He has also been featured in leading publications, including 3D World, POST Magazine, Orlando Business Journal, InPark Magazine, and Theme Park Insider.

Ali says: "I am honored to continue to provide strategic oversight for Falcon’s technology evolution.

"In my extended role, I will build on our efforts to align technology with the vision that Cecil has outlined for Falcon’s global strategy.

"I am excited to create a pathway to advance platforms like ÄEONXP, our loyalty and engagement ecosystem, and continue to push the boundaries of what may be possible in immersive entertainment."

Recently, Falcon’s Beyond Global announced a new collaboration with video game development studio CD PROJEKT RED to create defined concepts for Cyberpunk 2077 themed venues.