High-profile technology and business leaders are distancing themselves from a new advisory board tied to the Saudi Arabian government. The board was announced amid concerns about the disappearance and alleged murder of a Saudi dissident.

Neom, the Saudi government–backed mega-city project, said Tuesday that 19 tech and business luminaries — including Apple design chief Jony Ive, venture capitalists Marc Andreessen (a BuzzFeed investor) and Sam Altman, and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick — had joined its advisory board. That announcement came as US government officials, among them Vice President Mike Pence, condemned the possible murder of dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives at the country’s Istanbul consulate.

A few hours after that announcement, individuals supposedly associated with the group began to deny their involvement. Apple told BuzzFeed News that Ive was never part of the project. Meanwhile, a source familiar with the project said that the Apple design chief’s inclusion had been blamed on a translation error. Neom’s press release was later revised online to remove Ive’s name. On Wednesday, other leaders dropped or suspended their involvement. Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff denied ever being part of the project through a spokesperson. And former US energy secretary Ernest Moniz told Axios that he would not participate until more information was made available about Khashoggi’s disappearance.


Following publication of this story, an IDEO spokesperson informed BuzzFeed News on Thursday that the company's CEO Tim Brown "has chosen not to participate in the advisory board at this time." Later on Thursday, Altman, the president of technology accelerator Y Combinator, also said he would be suspending his involvement with Neom's advisory board "until the facts regarding Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance are known."

"This is well out of my area of expertise, so I don't plan to comment on the case until the investigation is finished," Altman said in a statement. "I remain a huge believer in the importance of building smart cities."

The timing of Neom’s board announcement and the awkward distancing of some of its alleged members puts a spotlight on the relationship between global business leaders and Saudi Arabia, a US ally that has been trying to reform its image under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As part of the revitalization, the prince courted American CEOs and billionaires, particularly those from the technology sector. He met with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai, and Apple’s Tim Cook in March and April.