Mohammed Bin Salman. Review of ‘The man who would be King’ Artwork

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TudoRama explores the nature and practice of creativity in the arts, sciences, politics and above all in everyday life. Tudor Rickards is Emeritus Professor of Creativity and Organizational Change at the University of Manchester. Tudor studied chemistry and radiation chemistry at The University of Wales at Cardiff. Following post-doctoral research at New York Medical College, he returned to the UK to work in technical management before joining Manchester Business School. He has published numerous books and articles on creativity, sporting management and leadership, as well as fictional works involving the mythical University of Urmston. He has been influential in the development of creativity-related projects in Europe, including the European Association for Creativity and Innovation (EACI), and was co-founder (with Susan Moger) of the journal Creativity and Innovation Management. He is also author of detective stories centred around the fictional University of Urmston, and a nearby chess club which houses a top-secret government surveillance operation. His recent switch to podcasting reaches out to a wider general audience interested in current affairs, and the processes of creativity previously described in his lectures, blogposts, and textbooks.

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Mohammed Bin Salman. Review of ‘The man who would be King’

September 11, 2025 • Tudor Rickards

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Mohammed Bin Salman. Review of ‘The man who would be King’

Tudor Rickards

The man who would be King is Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, of Saudi Arabia. In his efforts to transform his country, his approach deserves comparisons with another globally influential leader, Chairman Xi Jingping of China.

The distinguished American political reporter Karen Elliott House has summarised her extensive study of the leader who is attempting to transform Saudi Arabia from an oil-rich traditional country into one with its unique culture, but accommodating western-style aspects associated with technology, tourism and global sporting events such as golf and football.

The acronym MBS is one shared with Manchester Business School, my long-time academic location. In what follows, MBS refers to the Prince not the Business School.

Before reading the book, my understanding of Saudi Arabia drew on two popular media stories. The first often described as ‘green-washing’, refers to any attempt to disguise an ecologically dubious activity as environmentally healthy.
Saudi Arabia’s efforts to become a global superstar for sporting excellence ha s been cited as an example of greenwashing.

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