Arabian Business profiles 50 women who are leading from the front.
Each year Arabian Business proudly sets out to honour women who are creating an impact in the region, using their influence, experience and ambition to make their mark.
With so many incredible stories of success in the region, the job of picking just 50 business leaders from tens of thousands of deserving individuals was a difficult one.
This year we also redefined what a business leader is (male or female for that matter) with those profiled as much for their social impact and the good they do in the world through inspiring work, as much as for their traditional business success.
Entrepreneurs, NGOs, tech gurus, corporate leaders, campaigning champions, we salute you all.
| Inspiring Female Business Leaders | Inspiring Female Business Leaders |
|---|---|
| Ahlam Bolooki | Lucy d’Abo |
| Alisha Moopen | Lucy Harvey |
| Amna Al Owais | Mae Al Mozaini |
| Amritha Sethi | Mona Althagafi |
| Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish | Muna Al Gurg |
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Name: Ahlam Bolooki
Designation: Director
Company: Emirates Festival of Literature
Industry: Events
Aspiring to unite readers with books and inspire a lifelong passion for reading, Ahlam Bolooki, director of the Emirates Festival of Literature, is on a mission to inspire everyone, including non-readers, to read for pleasure. She is responsible for devising the strategy and curating a diverse, inclusive and enlightening Festival programme.
The iconic literary event returned after a hiatus under the theme ‘Here Comes the Sun’, and appealed to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. A catalyst for boosting the popularity of reading in the UAE by bringing readers face-to-face with their favourite authors, the Festival attracts fresh ideas, forward-thinking and promotes a more empathetic society.
Prior to her role with the Festival, Bolooki was the head of Regional Campaigns at Dubai Tourism – the principal authority responsible for strengthening Dubai’s positioning as a world-leading tourism destination.
Bolooki also has spent more than four years working in marketing roles at Jumeirah Group, during which she managed all aspects of marketing and communication for a portfolio of over 60 restaurants in 10 cities across the globe.
Born and raised in Dubai, she is a passionate advocate for the environment, and actively promotes community-focused solutions to support natural ecosystems both in the UAE and abroad.
Name: Alisha Moopen
Designation: Deputy Managing Director
Company: Aster DM Healthcare
Industry: Healthcare
Alisha Moopen is the Deputy Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, managing the company’s operations in India and GCC. She joined the company as a Director in 2013, and is responsible for overseeing the strategic direction and development of the company. Alisha is spearheading the expansion of the group into new markets which is currently present in seven countries with a network of 27 hospitals, 118 clinics, 66 labs and PECs and over 300 pharmacies whilst providing employment to more than 24,350 people.
Alisha was elected by World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader to join the class of 2018 and was inducted into the 5-year elite program after being recognised for her past work in healthcare. She has also been appointed to the Board of YPO’s Dubai Chapter, a global leadership organisation. She is the Founder and Vice-Chairwoman of Dubai Healthcare Business Group and in 2021 was appointed to the Board of Thought Leadership and Innovation Foundation, a US-based non-profit organisation.
In 2021, Alisha was awarded International Executive’s award by Harvard Business Council, Gold award by Stevie Awards for Women in Business and featured in the Fortune India’s special issue – Inspiring Women of India. In 2020, she was recognised as one of the Most Influential Women in the Arab World by CEO Middle East Magazine.
She was featured in Business Today’s Most Powerful Women list 2019 and recognised as one of the Top 100 World’s Greatest Leaders in Asia and GCC in 2018. The Asian Business Leadership Forum’s (ABLF) Rising Star Award, Game Changer of the Year Award at Global Women in Leadership Economic Forum and Emirates Woman Magazine’s Woman of the Year Award in the Achiever category; all in 2018. This year, Alisha has been listed in The Economic Times under 40 Under Forty: India Inc’s Top Young Leaders 2021.
Alisha is dedicated to women empowerment and mental health and was instrumental in launching the Women in Leadership programme at Aster empowering capable female employees.
Name: Amna Al Owais
Designation: Chief Registrar
Company: DIFC Courts
Industry: Legal
Amna Al Owais is currently the Chief Registrar of the DIFC Courts and oversees operations and quality management, supervising the Courts’ Judicial Officers and Registry personnel, as well as the delivery of a comprehensive suite of court public services. Amna also spearheads special projects across DIFC Courts operations, particularly in the field of technology and innovation, harnessing digital transformation for core courts services, including a major partnership project across blockchain with Smart Dubai and a court tech R&D initiative with Dubai Future Foundation.
In addition to her role as Chief Registrar of the DIFC Courts, Amna is also Registrar of the Special Tribunal Related to Dubai World, Chairwoman of the DIFC Courts’ Users’ Committee, Chairwoman of the DIFC Courts’ In-House Counsel Committee, and a member of the Consulting Council for the University of Sharjah College of Law. In 2014, Amna was appointed to the Advisory Board of the International Bar Association’s Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee.
In 2014, Amna was selected to join the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development (MBRCLD) – the Young Leaders category, and furthermore in 2018 after the relaunch of the MBRCLD, under the Dubai Executive Office and after an extensive selection process, Amna was selected to join the first batch of the MBRCLD Impactful Leaders Programme. Amna successfully graduated in December 2018.
Amna has played a key part in the establishment and development of the DIFC Courts and creation of the Dispute Resolution Authority in 2014. She also spearheaded the establishment of the DIFC Courts’ Pro Bono Programme, launched in 2009, which is the first scheme of its kind in the Middle East. In 2011 Amna was recognised by the International Bar Association as one of the Top 3 young lawyers in the world and was listed in the Top 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World and in the Top 100 Influential People Helping to Shape the Emirate of Dubai by Arabian Business in 2018.
Amna was also awarded Legal Services CEO of the Year at the Arabian Business CEO magazine Awards in 2018 and listed among the Top 30 Most Influential Women in the Arab World by Arabian Business magazine in 2019 and The Middle East’s 100 Power Businesswomen by Forbes Middle East in 2020.
In 2019, Amna was invited to join the Dubai Future Councils, a new initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Dubai Future Foundation. Consisting of 13 councils, its main mandate is to envisage the future agenda of Dubai in strategic sectors and launch initiatives with both private and public sector partners to create the foundation for that future. Amna specifically plays an active role in the membership of the Dubai Future Council on Entrepreneurship & Innovation Ecosystems.
Launched in 2019 by His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance, Amna was also selected by the University Leadership Council and Université Paris II to be in the first cohort of the International Business Law LLM and graduated summa cum laude in 2020. In September 2019, Amna was also appointed to the College of Law Advisory Board of the University of Dubai.
Amna has also successfully completed the magnificent Director Development Programme for Corporate Governance (4 modules) provided by the prestigious Hawkamah Institute in 2019. In 2021, Amna has been accepted to join the selective Strategic Leadership and Public Governance course provided by the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). The Programme is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Singapore in collaboration with the international embassies, who then coordinated with the Singaporean consulate in each country to nominate qualified personnel.
Previous to her employment at the DIFC Courts, Amna practiced as a lawyer in the litigation department with Hadef Al Dhahiri & Associates, now known as Hadef & Partners. Amna holds a Bachelor’s Degree of Law from the University of Sharjah and obtained a Masters (LLM) with Commendation in International Commercial Law from Kingston University, London.
Name: Amritha Sethi
Designation: First NFT Artist in the Middle East
Company:
Industry: Technology
Award-winning and the first NFT (non-fungible token) artist in the Middle East, Amritha Sethi, was born and raised in Kenya, later residing in Uganda, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, before moving to Dubai in 2007. This international diversity is reflected in her art which juxtaposes the tradition of storytelling with today’s modern technology. She is best known for her digital art; specifically, “Voice Note Art”, for which she holds the intellectual property rights.
The basic premise of this is to take a word and then use the sound waves that the word produces when spoken out loud to create a picture. She is also the first artist from the UAE to launch her NFT portfolio in 2020, and the first NFT artist to create a 2D animation with audio, enabling people to “see sound” through her art.
After having a successful career for over 15 years in some of the world’s largest multinational financial companies, Sethi left the corporate world to follow her dreams which subsequently led to the creation of “Voice Note Art”. In addition to being the recipient of various awards. She was one of the top 10 international and local artists for Expo 2020’s Flagship Community Art project- “My Urban Freej” which transformed the UAE into a large art canvas for the community.
She also recently created the world’s first augmented reality abaya and the world’s first sound augmented reality NFT mural at the DIFC Innovation Hub.
Name: Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish
Designation: Chairperson-MHD ACERE
Company: Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC (MHD), Oman
Industry: Diversified
The Chairperson of Automotive, Construction Equipment and Renewable Energy (ACERE) cluster of MHD LLC, Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish embarked upon her career with MHD LLC in 1994, and has had an upwardly steady corporate career trajectory since then. Through meticulous planning, sound leadership, determination, and foresight, under Darwish’s leadership, the business has grown to new heights. She credits her leadership skills and success to her father, Mohsin Haider Darwish and carries his legacy forward.
For Darwish, growth is at the top of every agenda and her vision for MHD LLC includes expanding their footprint into new sectors. Currently, chairperson of Areej Vegetable Oils and Derivatives SAOC and Duqm United Logistics, she is also a board member of Muscat University, Unicef Leadership Circle and Dar Al Atta.
Aligned with Oman Vision 2040, for the future, Darwish is exploring possibilities of further diversification and believes in continuing the quest for excellence.
Under her leadership, MHD LLC has been the recipient of several awards across the region, including Menaa Award for Best Corporate Brand Award 2019 and the Automotive Supplier of the Year 2020, Oman Prestige Awards.
Name: Beatrice Cornacchia
Designation: Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
Company: Mastercard
Industry: Technology
A powerhouse in her own right, Beatrice Cornacchia, senior vice president, Marketing and Communications Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Mastercard is the creative force leading the company’s brand strategy across the region’s markets. After starting her journey with the company in 1991, Cornacchia went on to head strategic sales functions and numerous marketing teams in a succession of key roles including head of Consumer Marketing, Europe; head of Issuer and Merchant Marketing, Europe; and head of Marketing, Italy and Greece. In 2019, she was ranked among the Top 30 Most Influential Women in the Arab World by Arabian Business.
Through strategic brand engagement and captivating story creation, Cornacchia balances Mastercard’s growing positioning as a tech company with an aspirational approach that taps into its heritage of creating ‘Priceless Possibilities’. Her exceptional brand-building work over the past few years included launching the company’s innovative symbolic and sonic identity across the region, to name a few; and during the pandemic resulted in enhancing Mastercard’s positioning as a trusted voice for safe, secure and seamless transactions.
Cornacchia’s efforts included the rollout of an evolved e-commerce thrust, and diligently leveraging data and tech expertise to inform stakeholders on contactless adoption as part of a winning campaign at the 2020 MEPRA Awards and another innovative campaign around empowering SMEs in the region that was recognised at the 2021 MEPRA Awards and 2022 PRCA Awards.
Another much-publicised award-winning initiative, the Astronomical Sales campaign that tied 97 percent discounts to a rare solar eclipse, contributed to a sustained, dynamic progression of differentiating Mastercard’s marketing and communications. Cornacchia is systematically leveraging the underlying concept of Priceless, the deep emotional connection that fills people’s life with meaning and purpose; to empower Mastercard’s consumers in the region to pursue their passions with priceless possibilities.
Juxtaposing superlative qualities, Cornacchia’s secret sauce for marketing combines great content with the science of data analytics, precision targeting and an innate understanding of human emotions.
Name: Camilla d’Abo
Designation: Non-Executive Director
Company: Design by Roar
Industry: Design
A recognised business leader with over 20 years of experience in leading businesses in the Middle East, Camilla d’Abo, non-executive director, Design by Roar, has lived and worked in Dubai for nearly 40 years.
With a unique knowledge of the region and exceptional credentials, her reputation for managing marketing campaigns for global brands and clients is renowned. d’Abo co-founded integrated communications agency DABO & CO in 2004, and in a span of 12 years, the business grew to an 80-strong team, representing leading brands including Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, BMW, Rolls-Royce, Nike and HSBC.
The Dubai Government listed DABO & CO. among the top 100 performing SMEs in Dubai in 2015. It was sold to the world’s largest global PR firm, Edelman that same year. She took on the role as Vice Chairman of Edelman until 2017 when she joined APCO Worldwide as the managing director. Here she managed one of the largest offices in the APCO Worldwide network, providing strategic consultancy for government and corporate clients. Currently, d’Abo is a non-executive director of one of the region’s fastest-growing interior design and architecture houses, Design by Roar.
The recipient of over 30 communications industry awards in the region, d’Abo has received the Dubai SME 100 Human Capital ranking number two and was the Winner of the MEPRA Chairman’s Award in 2017.
Name: Cynthia Corby
Designation: Chief Operating Officer, Audit Transformation Leader
Company: Deloitte Middle East
Industry: Professional Services
Corby serves as the chief operating officer for Audit and Assurance (A&A), Deloitte Middle East (DME) leading the practice comprising circa 1700 people. Driving growth and operational excellence and collaborating across functions to serve the needs of a complex clientele, Corby has a proven track record for delivering exemplary client services to C-level members.
Cynthia is based in Dubai and is also responsible for leading the A&A strategy and transformation. In addition to these roles, she is also a Board Member for Consulting in the Middle East, along with being a Finance Sub-Committee Member for the
practice. Juggling multiple roles within the company, Corby is also the Deloitte Private Audit Leader, and partner, Audit and Assurance, Deloitte Middle East North South Europe (NSE), in addition to the Middle East Consulting board member and Finance Sub Committee member.
Corby is also the Middle East Construction Industry Leader for the firm with over 30 years of experience in the profession. She regularly chairs industry conferences and produces articles on key industry issues and is the author and founder of the GCC Powers of Construction Publication which is released annually by the Middle East firm. In addition to her Middle East roles, Corby also serves as the Deloitte Private Audit Leader for North South Europe (NSE) which includes all key markets in.
Name: Dr. Dalya Al Muthanna
Designation: President UAE and Global Chief Strategy and Operations
Company: GE International Markets, GE
Industry: Multinational
Partnering with the GE businesses in the industrial verticals of Energy, Aviation, and Healthcare, Dr. Dalya Al Muthanna, president UAE and global chief strategy and operations, GE International Markets, GE, develops and facilitates the execution of market business strategy in the UAE.
She also plays a global role in leading the strategic direction of the GE International Markets organisation, which empowers GE to operate within specific strategic and emerging markets by fostering robust stakeholder relationships, analysing distinctive market dynamics, and spearheading lean transformation all across its operational management system.
In a region of 76 working nationalities, GE cultivates diversity in the workforce. For women, the Women’s Network, an affinity network at GE, creates opportunities for female employees to foster their business and leadership skills. Aligned in this drive for diversity, Dr. Al Muthanna strives towards steering innovation to advance technological growth in the region in addition to developing leadership capability and local talent. In 2008, she joined GE as part of the Experienced Commercial Leadership Program, the company’s two-year rotational program.
Since then, she has held several senior roles, including heading the growth strategy for the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.
Name: Eaman Al Roudhan
Designation: CEO
Company: Zain Kuwait
Industry: Telecoms
Eaman Al Roudhan was appointed CEO of Zain Kuwait in December 2015. A results-focused telecommunications executive, Al Roudhan has over 25 years of experience spent in various executive management and leadership roles within Zain Kuwait as well as several Zain Group affiliates. Prior to her new appointment, Al Roudhan was the chief regulatory officer of Zain Group.
Al Roudhan’s successful career at Zain started in the Kuwait operation, where she launched the first mobile prepaid service in the country, which went on to dominate the country’s prepaid mobile customer base. As Zain expanded across the region, Al Roudhan’s responsibilities also grew from 2003 onwards as she was an active participant in the start-up teams in several Zain operations across the Middle East, namely Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.
Al Roudhan continued to play a key role in the transformation of Zain, building operational teams and establishing solid foundations for business units across all major telecommunications sectors including Intelligent Networks, product and service development, strategy and business planning, roaming, wholesale and carrier business, as well as regulatory affairs.
After assuming the role of CEO in December 2015, Al Roudhan led a number of vital projects that shaped a new period in Zain’s history, most notably the commercial launch of fifth-generation wireless technology (5G) in June 2019, where Zain became the first operator to offer 5G technology in the GCC region via the Kuwaiti market with nationwide coverage.
in addition, Al Roudhan led the signing of the smart metres project with the Ministry of Electricity and Water, which is considered one of the largest projects in Kuwait’s ICT sector, and proved to be a testament to the country’s efforts to catalyze the uptake of e-government services and digital transformation. Throughout her years at Zain, she has also orchestrated numerous strategic alliances with international and regional operators, lead teams and developed resources across technology, commercial, strategy, wholesale, and regulatory affairs.
Eaman Al Roudhan is a member in a number of international standards and regulatory affairs bodies such as the GSMA Arab World regional interest group and the GSMA Chief Regulatory Officer Group (CROG).
Name: Elda Choucair
Designation: CEO
Company: Omnicom Media Group
Industry: Media
Elda Choucair is the CEO of Omnicom Media Group MENA, the media services division of the Omnicom Group. As the industry changes beyond recognition at light speed, Elda is tasked with retooling and reconfiguring the services and talent of the agency for optimum performance in the new world.
She has championed multiple projects to accelerate the group’s transformation, including technological developments in automation, predictive modeling and e-commerce, and has passionately engineered the highest calibre of training required for its agencies and people to thrive. A 15-year veteran at the group, Elda has held senior account positions at OMD and led PHD for more than 10 years.
Under her leadership, PHD grew sevenfold and became a key player in the region. In 2016, she was named CEO of PHD MENA, the same year the company was named “MENA Media Network of the Year” by Campaign Middle East. Elda’s remit expanded in 2019 to COO of the holding group before she was promoted to CEO in 2021.
Elda shakes up traditions, approaches strategies innovatively, and remains ahead of the industry on several fronts. Recent highlights include the group’s expansion into new Middle Eastern markets, accolades like the ‘Most Effective Media Office 2021’ and third best employer in the UAE by the Great Place to Work Institute. She is also an active industry figure, as vice-chair of the Advertising Business Group (ABG).
Name: Erika Doyle
Designation: Founder and CEO
Company: Drink Dry
Industry: Entrepreneur
A pioneer of the dry drinking movement, Erika Doyle, founder and CEO of Drink Dry initially began their trajectory as an e-store in 2021. Today, the brand is now well-recognised in the retail and hospitality sector with their products showcased in many venues across Dubai.
Firmly anchored in a new category, Doyle has been steering one of the fastest-growing startups in the UAE by introducing new ways of drinking to consumers by presenting an expansive range of non-alcoholic quality products. These product offerings include non-alcoholic beers, wines, spirits, and mixers to appeal to all tastes and preferences.
From January 2021 to December 2021, Drink Dry witnessed their monthly sales grow by 2000 percent. They entered the retail space by working with Choithrams in March 2021 and by June 2021, over 60 hospitality venues were being supplied by Drink Dry. By August, they had their first export order to Kuwait and then in December 2021, forayed into the ‘quick commerce’ business with Talabat.
In a short time span, the company is now supplying over 200 venues in the UAE with their full portfolio. By collaborating with both small, niche brands as well as bigger, global non-alcoholic drinks brands, Drink Dry are providing their customers with high-quality as well as innovative tastes from the newer brands. The brand has also signed contracts with two large hotel chains for regional distribution.
Name: Farah Zafar
Designation: Award-winning Chief Legal Officer, Co-founder
Company: Spotlyve
Industry: Technology
With over 20 years of experience in the Middle East, Farah Zafar, award-winning chief legal officer/ co-founder of Spotlyve was contributory to the growth and success of key development companies, Omniyat and Al Mazaya Holdings (publicly listed – Dubai, Kuwait and Qatar) as well has held positions with the region’s most prominent visionaries and leaders.
A proven right hand to the CEO and the board, she is an experienced chief legal officer and executive board member. Known for her ability to structure and grow billion-dollar development entities, motivate and lead strong teams, Zafar provides clear and focused legal, development, corporate and investment support across all industry sectors.
Devoted to female empowerment and the growing role of women in the Middle East, Zafar provides mentorship to the younger generation of female executives. Also a budding tech entrepreneur, she is the co-founder of Spotlyve, a fully integrated platform that will assist content creators, independent professionals and businesses in monetising their skills and passions online to redefine the corporate landscape and help professionals monetise their passion.
She is also the recipient of numerous awards including Women of Influence in the Arab World; CEO Middle East in 2021, General Counsel of the Year; Middle East Legal Awards in 2020, and Woman of the Year; Big Project Middle East in 2019, amongst others.
Name: Dr. Ghada Al Mutairi
Designation: Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Nano-Engineering, Founder
Company: University of California San Diego (US), eLux Medical Inc.
Industry: Science
Dr. Adah Almutairi, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Nano-engineering at University of California San Diego (US), Founder of eLux Medical Inc., has contributed to polymer science and nanotechnology. Since 2014, she holds ten patents for her work and has launched several polymeric materials fundamental to drug delivery. This includes the groundbreaking, first near infrared-degradable polymer, which facilitates precise and remotely controlled delivery.
A 2016 US National Academy of Sciences Kavli Fellow, Dr. Almutairi is currently on the faculty of UC San Diego’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. She has been the recipient of several awards and competitive funding throughout her career, including NIH New Innovator Award, UC Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, UC Dissertation Award, and the PhRMA Foundation Starter Grant.
Awarded the Rodna Nye Scholarship, Dr.Almutairi moved to Los Angeles in 1997 to attend Occidental College. Upon receiving an Advanced Bachelor in Chemistry, she received a GAANN fellowship to continue her studies at the University of California Riverside. She completed her PhD in 2005 in Materials Chemistry and was the recipient of the UC Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship and the UC Dissertation Award. She conducted her postdoctoral studies at the University of California Berkeley.
Name: Ghada Othman Alrumayan
Designation: Group Chief Executive, Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Company: ROSHN
Industry: Construction
Ghada Othman Alrumayan is Group Chief Marketing and Communications officer at the national community developer, ROSHN. With more than a decade of experience in the communications arena, Alrumayan is an expert at building enduring relationships within the public and private sectors, and enhancing the impact and reputation of the organisations she works for.
She occupies her role at a time when the company is implementing one of the largest residential real estate projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Accordingly, she has deployed a media strategy that reflects the complexity of a large and dynamic organisation: a multi-faceted approach that builds on traditional and alternative media channels to promote and increase interest in ROSHN’s new communities, centred on sustainable, high-quality living.
As part of her comprehensive strategy, Alrumayan has successfully utilised ROSHN’s landmark sponsorship activity to build brand recognition and reinforce company messaging. This effort included the Kingdom’s first and second Formula 1 events in Jeddah, Riyadh Season, as well as the Saudi Pro League.
These events have augmented ROSHN’s traditional and alternative channel campaigns to produce one of the most dynamic media programmes of 2021.
Name: Grace Najjar
Designation: Managing Director – Middle East and North Africa
Company: Project Management Institute
Industry: Project Management
With 25 years of global experience as an advisor, lead engineer and program director, Grace Najjar, managing director, Project Management Institute, Middle East/North Africa also launched her own company, Align Management Solutions in 2010, with direct expertise in managing and implementing business technology management consultancy and capacity building services for internationally funded projects, including USAID, Europena Union (EU), and the World Bank.
She is also a long-time volunteer, notably as founding member of the PMI Lebanon Chapter, Chapter vice president and PMI Middle East Region mentor. With a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology, a Master’s degree in Systems Engineering from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, and a Master’s degree in Network and Telecommunications from the Télécom ParisTech, she is also a certified PMP and PgMP, and is a graduate of the 2013 PMI Leadership Institute Master Class.
Just some of PMI’s services include providing accreditation in project management, education, research, the development of standards, networking opportunities in local chapters, and training seminars, to name a few. Najjar has established strong partnerships for PMI in the region especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Name: Hana Al Rostamani
Designation: Group CEO
Company: First Abu Dhabi Bank
Industry: Banking
An accomplished C-suite executive with over 20 years of experience in banking and financial services, Hana Al Rostamani, group chief executive officer, First Abu Dhabi Bank, previously served as the deputy group chief executive officer and head of personal banking at FAB, the UAE’s largest and safest financial institution.
As of September 2021, FAB’s total assets were noted at $268bn, and with her astute leadership and fresh perspectives, continues to lead the transformation of FAB’s consumer bank with a focus on inculcating a customer and digital-first mindset. Al Rostamani has also served as an independent director at Emirates Integrated Telecommunication Co. (Du) as well as was the vice-chairperson of Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Services.
Named group CEO of FAB in January 2021, Al Rostamani is the only female group CEO of a major UAE-headquartered bank and publicly listed corporation within the UAE. Her forward-thinking approach and leadership excellence have steered the FAB brand towards expansion internationally throughout the Middle East with the acquisition of assets such as the Egyptian division of Bank Audi, a Lebanese bank. A graduate of George Washington University in the US, she currently chairs FAB Private Bank.
Name: Heather Henyon
Designation: Founding General Partner
Company: Mindshift Capital
Industry: Investment
A venture investor focused on women-led tech companies in the Middle East, US and Europe with 100 direct and fund investments, Heather Henyon is the founding general partner of Mindshift Capital which launched in 2019.
A global women-led and gender-lens VC fund, Mindshift Capital invests in startups launched by women across the MENAT region, US, and Singapore. To date, they have invested in 11 tech startups, with a fund target of up to 20 companies in total. With a focus on early-stage companies in the Middle East, the US, Europe, and the Middle East, through its global network, Mindshift Capital pinpoints companies with high-growth potential, exceptional leadership, and scalable technology.
Also the founder of the first social business in the Arab region, Henyon has also launched WAIN (Women’s Angel Investor Network) in 2013 in Dubai, the first and largest women’s angel investor group in the Middle East to invest in women-led start-ups through a unique collaborative process.
With more than 45 years combined industry experience in over 10 countries, global women-led, gender-lens VC fund Mindshift Capital narrows the funding gap for female-led ventures while ensuring diversity of thought. It has doubled its fund size, attracting new US and Middle East investors to its inaugural fund, with several prominent female investors and business leaders from the United Arab Emirates.
Name: Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi
Designation: Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Director General
Company: Seddiqi Holding, Dubai Watch Week
Industry: Luxury
The granddaughter of the founder of Ahmed Seddiqi and Sons, the largest watch retailer in the UAE, with 51 locations and growing, Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi is the chief marketing and communications officer at Seddiqi Holding and the director general of Dubai Watch Week.
Within the group, she is responsible for developing integrated marketing strategies for each business unit in addition to their internal and external executive communication plans and strategies. She also heads the Customer Experience (CX) communications for all business units, including Seddiqi Properties and Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons.
She not only re-structured the company’s marketing department, but is also actively involved in the conceptualisation and implementation of corporate and communications strategies across their business portfolio.
The woman behind Dubai Watch Week, Seddiqi has made an industry-transforming impact. Launched only in 2015, the event drawa the leading talents of watchmaking to converge in the Middle East. She strongly believes that qualities of exceptional leadership transcend gender and told Arabian Business, “We are lucky in the UAE to have such opportunities, hence the existence of strong leadership roles.”
Name: Her Highness Sheikha Intisar Al Sabah
Designation: Founder and Chairwoman
Company: Intisar Foundation, Kuwait
Industry: Philanthropy
Envisioning peace in the Arab world is a life vision of HH Sheikha Intisar Al Sabah, founder and chairwoman, Intisar Foundation, Kuwait. From her native Kuwait, it steers her work as an author, film producer, columnist, an entrepreneur, and a philanthropist as well as underpins her mission to empower children, young people, and women. With social enterprises that include the charitable Intisar Foundation, Prismologie, Intisars, Ebbarra, and non-profits Alnowair and Bareec, she is also a frequent visitor to refugee camps across the region, offering support to women suffering from war trauma.
Her personal victory over trauma triggered by the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was part of the impetus towards her personal effort to self-empower Arab women. Her tribute to this is the ‘One Million Arab Women’ initiative, the Intisar Foundation’s plan to mitigate trauma in one million Arab women affected by war brutalities using drama therapy by 2050. Her lifelong commitment to philanthropy reflects in HH Al Sabah’s involvement with humanitarian organisations that aspire to provide equal opportunities, education, and reassurance for those who require it.
An active member of the Human Rights Watch Kuwait chapter, she has also been involved in raising funds for UNHCR for the victims of the Syrian War. And along with ICRC (International Committee of Red Cross), she has spearheaded several initiatives including a roundtable discussion to create awareness of the dilemma of Arab women in war. Highly influential in the Kuwaiti society, HH Al Sabah is also the founder and editorial director of Lulua Publishing, and the founder of non-profit positivity initiative Alnowair, a contribution to her native Kuwait.
Moreover, she is actively committed to women rights, child protection, human rights, education, health and more, and has been a leader for people impacted by wars, disasters, and conflicts.
Behind an innovative approach towards peacebuilding, Intisar Foundation implements drama therapy as a method toward self-empowerment of Arab women traumatised by war and violence, and to move towards psychological recovery.
Name: Jamie Phares
Designation: Managing Director
Company: Janssen GCC Countries
Industry: Pharmaceutical
After graduating from business school at Wharton in the US. Jamie Phares, managing director, Janssen GCC, moved to Dubai where she joined Johnson & Johnson (J&J) in the Medical Devices sector. She handled over 15 countries in the Middle East, having worked in marketing for their Ethicon Endo-Surgery business. She held several leadership roles over time across different countries, including EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and in the Emerging Markets.
Prior to shifting into pharmaceuticals, she was the vice president of Ethicon Wound Closure for EMEA. Due to her vastly diverse experience in the company, Phares has been well-acquainted to broad range of schools of thought and perspectives across the company. Driven by Janssen GCC’s credo, she inculcates the same diverse and inclusive ethos in her current role and beyond.
Phares joined Janssen GCC as managing director with a directive to align the organisation with the healthcare transformation demands and ensure patient access to their innovative medicines, all part of their objective to create a disease-free future. Part of Janssen Global and one of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies, Janssen GCC is active in over 150 countries throughout the world with offices in over 30 countries.
Spanning a region from Russia to Ireland and South Africa to Norway, Janssen EMEA spends $1.5bn per annum on research and development. With over 14,000 employees and eight research centres, Janssen is responsible to the communities in which we live and work and also to the world community.
On 19 February 2022, Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP), and Axios recently signed an appendix to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the scope of the ‘Hand in Hand’ initiative. The agreement is part of their commitment to facilitating accessibility to innovative drugs, particularly to low-income bracket expatriates unable to afford their treatment or to patients’ whose insurance is not providing coverage for certain diseases.
Name: Kate Midttun
Designation: Founder and CEO
Company: Acorn Strategy Abu Dhabi
Industry: Strategy
Launched in 2010 by founder and CEO Kate Midttun, Acorn Strategy is a strategy-led integrated marketing, public relations, and digital communications agency firm based in Abu Dhabi. As a marketing and communications professional, Midttun arrived in Abu Dhabi over a decade ago and spent a few years working for hotels on Yas Island in the role of a marketing director. When she felt the need for a new challenge, Midttun began developing marketing strategies on a freelance basis which would ultimately grow into her own venture in Abu Dhabi.
And now with nearly two decades of experience acquired across the globe, she leads a team of diversified and well-experienced experts with over 200 cumulative years of experience. The agency helps businesses develop a competitive advantage by inculcating marketing approaches that are specifically tailored for them. With offices based in the UAE, UK, and Australia, its services in the UAE are across the education, real estate, leisure, healthcare, and infrastructure sectors.
In March 2018, Acorn Strategy forayed into Australia with its office in Perth. Bolstering its regional presence, more recently in April 2022, Acorn Strategy expanded into Dubai with an office at Jumeirah Lakes Towers, now in its 11th year of operations. Originally operating from its global head office in Abu Dhabi, this expansion makes it its fifth office globally, across the UAE, Australia, and the UK.
The very recent new executive regulations announced in April 2022 by the UAE Cabinet, set flexible requirements for entrepreneurs and start-up owners to obtain the ten-year residency visa. As the first female entrepreneur to receive the Golden Visa in Abu Dhabi, Midttun has set a record while ascending her career to new heights.
She told Arabian Business, “As a business owner, entrepreneur, employer, mother and long-term resident of the UAE, I fully welcome the broadening of the rules and ability for more people to be eligible. The UAE is an attractive place to do business, live and create amazing things.”
Name: Her Royal Highness Princess Lamia Bint Majid Al Saud
Designation: Secretary General
Company: Alwaleed Philanthropies
Industry: Philanthropy
One of the most highly regarded trailblazers of the region, HRH Princess Lamia Bint Majid Al Saud, secretary general, Alwaleed Philanthropies ceaselessly strives towards the empowerment of women and to globally change perceptions of Arab woman. A staunch proponent of women empowerment, through her work with Alwaleed Philanthropies, HRH Bint Majid Al Saud has juggled multiple projects which attest to her commitment and unwavering dedication.
Noticing a gender disparity revealed by a study about female participation in Saudi Arabia in 2019, she collaborated with Careem in order to secure 100 Careem women captains to provide more women employment opportunities. She is the recipient of the People First Leader Award at the 8th Annual GCC GOV HR Summit 2020, testament to her years of dedication and efforts in causes for women empowerment.
Their volunteering programme is the first in the Kingdom to build structured women and youth scout groups in Saudi universities and is in full support of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 goal of rallying one million individuals to volunteer every year.
Appointed Secretary General of Alwaleed Philanthropies in April 2016, HRH Bint Majid Al Saud previously held the role of executive manager of Media and Communication at the Foundation.
In 2001, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Misr International University, Cairo with a major in Public Relations and Marketing Advertising and a minor in Journalism. She launched her own publishing company, Sada Al Arab in 2003, which published three magazines from Dubai, Cairo, and Beirut. Subsequently, Her Royal Highness went on to publish Children & Blood, her first novel in 2010 which highlighted the brutal subject of honour killings.
HRH Princess Lamia received an honorary medal from the Vice President of Laos, Dr. Phankham Viphavanh in 2017. Held in London, Her Royal Highness was also the winner of the Achievement in Philanthropies Award at the Arab Women of the Year 2017.
Name: Linda Fitz-Alan
Designation: Registrar and Chief Executive
Company: Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts (ADGM Courts), Abu Dhabi
Industry: Legal
Transforming ADGM into an international trailblazer for innovative delivery of judicial services, and for pioneering game-changing technology in dispute resolution, Linda Fitz-Alan, registrar and chief executive, Abu Dhabi Global Market Courts (ADGM Courts), Abu Dhabi assumed her role in October 2015.
Leading ADGM’s extensive dispute resolution services, her role also includes managing the progressive ADGM Arbitration Centre. Fitz-Alan also spearheads the administration and operations of ADGM Courts, including both the delivery of the Court’s comprehensive digital services and unique eCourts Platform as well as the management of cases.
In 2018, ADGM Court’s unique ADGM eCourts Platform was designed by Fitz-Alan to provide remarkable access and connection to the Court by abolishing any time or geographical boundary which enabled hearings to be held from anywhere in the world. She also developed the world’s first completely digital ADGM Courtroom, which enables all parties real-time access to remote witness evidence and the same documents.
Prior to her role, Fitz-Alan was the CEO and Principal Registrar of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Australia, where she was responsible for the development of the court’s human resources and training and the advancement of its electronic filing and case management capability, including the court’s civil and criminal registries design, refurbishment and consolidation.
A CEDR accredited mediator, she has also held a senior legal position with a large commercial insurer in New York, USA, and has been a partner of two Australian law firms. A strong proponent of gender equality, Fitz-Alan heads ADGM’s Gender Equality Initiative, forming strategic partnerships with numerous local and international organisations.
She also serves on the Advisory Council of Masdar’s Women in Sustainability, Environment and Renewable Energy (WiSER) platform. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Professional Achievement Award at the inaugural Middle East Women in Law Awards by LexisNexis.
Name: Lucy Chow
Designation: Investor
Company: World Business Angels Investment Forum
Industry: Investment
An entrepreneur and a director of the Women’s Angel Investor Network (WAIN) in the UAE, Lucy Chow, investor in the World Business Angels Investment Forum was born in Canada and initiated her expatriate career in China prior to her role as a senior vice president for HSBC in Hong Kong in 1997.
Dividing her time in Hong Kong, she also lived In New York where she held the gl With multiple business ventures, Chow is also the founder of events services company The Elements Group, which boasts clients from a diverse range of industries. In her various roles, Chow champions gender equality and growing the number of women in investment.
She is a founding member of the Women’s Angel Investing Network (WAIN) the first women’s angel investor group in the Middle East to invest in women-led start-ups through a unique collaborative process.
As senator to UAE for WBAIF, an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), she is committed to collaborating globally to empower the economic development of the world by fostering innovative financial instruments for start-ups, entrepreneurs and SMEs and to promoting gender equality and women’s participation in all sectors of the world economy. She is also a board member of the Global Start-up and Women Executive Committees. She also serves as a co-chair for Women in Business at The Capital Club, DIFC.
Name: Lucy d’Abo
Designation: CEO and Co-founder
Company: Together
Industry: Culture
Lucy d’Abo is CEO and co-founder of Together, a unique to the region consultancy committed dedicated entirely to workplace culture. While addressing the growing demands of the future of work, the venture aspires to make culture a superpower of brands and by bringing leaders and employees together, transform organisations to obtain an effective and aligned workforce. Together works to help achieve business performance through culture to enable purpose and successful organisational people results.
Just some of their services include values and behaviours, culture transformation, people development, managing change for future purpose, strategic planning, and internal communications.
Their vast experience includes providing consulting services to ambitious business leaders leading multi-million that care about achieving greatness. Together’s award-winning team has over 60 years of combined experience in just some of the following: consultancy, building superpower cultures, HR and employee engagement, and CEO leadership.
With a core focus on creating results driven outcomes, Together provides senior management advisory and coaching, to culture transformation and people development strategies, or internal communications and brand purpose, our focus is on building effective and results-driven outcomes.
Name: Lucy Harvey
Designation: Managing Director – METIA
Company: HK Strategies
Industry: Communications
Since 2010, Lucy Harvey, managing director-METIA, HK Strategies has been a viable player on the regional H+K leadership team; initially as general manager of Abu Dhabi and following this, as their general manager of Dubai.
In addition to overseeing Marketing Communications, Harvey has led integrated communications and senior counsel within practices. Prior to this, she worked in London at Freud Communications across a diverse range of international FMCG clients, some of which included Pepsi, Nike, Asda (part of the Wal-Mart group), and Gatorade.
Her experience includes training for senior leaders, award-winning consumer launches, creating video content for government and internal campaigns. Currently listed in the PR Week Middle East Powerbook, Harvey is also a facilitator and an experienced trainer.
With nearly two decades in the industry across the UK and Middle East, as managing director in the METIA region, Harvey has a focus on integrated content and communications campaigns as well as supports major clients with planning, strategy, and operations across the region.
She also steers the development of the Studio and the Innovation + Creative hub as part of her role. With experience in working with some of the world’s biggest brands, Harvey applies strategic insight and team work to create stories that have real impact with internal and external audiences.
Name: Mae Al Mozaini
Designation: CEO
Company: nusf – The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment
Industry: NGO
A very recent recipient of the Arabian Business’s KSA Women’s Excellence Awards was launched in February to celebrate the journey of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mae Al Mozaini, founder and CEO of The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment – Nusf Mae Al Mozaini, CEO of nusf – The Arab Institute for Women’s Empowerment, told the room, “What an exciting time it is to be a Saudi woman – we are the number one most educated women in the region and 10 in the world.” She discussed the gender gap higher up the corporate ladder and how women cannot advance if they don’t have the support of society, including men. “It should not be us versus them.”
In Arabic Nusf means ‘half,’ and the institute strives to highlight the importance of investing in women and engage half the Kingdom’s population through empowerment. A social enterprise dedicated to helping advance the economic and social well-being of Saudi and Arab women, Nusf focuses on preparing and enabling women for executive leadership in Saudi Arabia.
By providing the skills, knowledge, and networks required to broaden their impact on their own individual organisations in addition to their wider communities, nusf aims to raise the percentage of women in leadership in Saudi Arabia.
Name: Mona Althagafi
Designation: Country Director
Company: Serco, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Industry: Public Services
With over 20 years of local Saudi experience, Mona Althagafi, country director, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has held various positions in government and private entities. A Saudi national, Althagafi is responsible for steering Serco’s growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which includes the operational delivery of their core offering of data, asset and workforce management.
In alignment of Vision 2030, she plays a key role in building and growing the citizen services business in the Kingdom, with a commitment to service excellence and customer experience, strengthened through Serco Middle East’s ExperienceLab. Since her appointment as Serco’s KSA Country Director, there has been a clear vision of Serco’s goals in the Kingdom.
Althagafi has brought a sense of true leadership to over 2,500 employees that work for Serco in KSA. In just over one year, she has transformed the Saudi business. She has successfully hired and trained KSA national females within the past year, and they are now responsible for leading various parts of the KSA business.
With a firm belief in upskilling young talent and creating leaders of the future, through the Serco Middle East Graduate Programme, she implements the right techniques to educate and guide fresh graduates.
Name: Muna Al Gurg
Designation: Director of Retail
Company: Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group
Industry: Retail
Muna Al Gurg is the director of retail of her family business Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, a diversified international conglomerate launched in 1960 in Dubai by her father. With 27 companies under its umbrella, Al Gurg oversees strategy and operational development for the group’s international and local retail brands that include Siemens and Unilever.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from the American University in Dubai and in 2009, received her Executive MBA in Business Administration from London Business School. She embarked on her career with Saatchi & Saatchi in Dubai, and in 2001, joined the family business.
With a keen interest in helping the youth of the United Arab Emirates, she is also the chairwoman of government led Young Arab Leaders UAE, promoting education, entrepreneurship and youth development for the enterprise. Moreover, she is also on the board of directors of Emirates Foundation, an independent philanthropic organisation chaired by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which helps improve UAE’s youth.
An advocate for a greater role for women in business, Al Gurg launched the Muna Al Gurg Scholarship in 2015 at London Business School to support female students in the school’s MBA and Executive MBA programme. Within Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, she launched the Al Gurg Women’s Empowerment Forum.
Name: Dr. Nadia Qassim Bastaki
Designation: Chief Human Resources, Organisational Development and Asset Management Officer
Company: Etihad Aviation Group
Industry: Aviation
After having previously served as vice president of Medical Services since 2014, in November 2021, Dr. Nadia Bastaki, chief Human Resources, Organisational Development and Asset Management officer, Etihad Aviation Group assumed her new role and is the first-ever female chief executive at the Etihad Aviation Group and the first female UAE national to specialise in aviation medicine.
In her current role, she is responsible for the Asset Management department as well as leads Etihad’s people and wellbeing strategy. During the turbulence caused by the coronavirus crisis, as part of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court’s Frontline Heroes initiative, Dr. Bastaki was recognised as a superhero for her role in safeguarding the future of the UAE’s aviation industry, its workforce and passengers.
During the pandemic, Dr. Bastaki played a key role in managing the airline’s health and safety response to the global crisis and directly worked with SEHA, the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, and the General Civil Aviation Authority. The first UAE national female to be registered as an Aviation Medical Specialist with the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), she also serves as one of HAAD’s Scientific Reviewers, accrediting publications on Aviation and Occupational Medicine.
Name: Najwa Attiga
Designation: General Counsel
Company: Emirates Investment Authority UAE
Industry: Investment
A seasoned senior US-qualified attorney based in Abu Dhabi with over 25 years of experience, Najwa Attiga, general counsel, Emirates Investment Authority, UAE is an international corporate attorney whose principal areas of practice are corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, investment funds, private equity, and dispute resolution.
She currently holds the position of general counsel of the Emirates Investment Authority and is the founder of the Arab Women Lawyers Group Middle East, a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting women in the legal profession in the Middle East. She explained to Arabian Business, “In the legal industry, and despite a steady increase in the number of female graduates of law schools, the legal profession continues to be led predominantly by men.”
With a wealth of multinational and multifaceted academic and business experience, Attiga personally founded and managed multiple legal departments and teams over the past twenty years in the USA, MENA and GCC regions. Also, she is a member of New York State Bar Association. In addition, she holds a Master of Law Degree in International Law from the University of Jordan in Amman.
Attiga also supports women forming networking groups to boost their career prospects. “Networking events aimed at women, help women meet contacts, access resources, ideas and success stories.” she says.
Name: Natasha Hatherall-Shawe
Designation: Founder and CEO
Company: TishTash Communications
Industry: Communications
With offices recently launched in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the UK, TishTash Communications was founded in Dubai in 2012 by Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, founder and CEO. This boutique, independent integrated marketing communications agency witnessed exponential growth in 2021, with several internal promotions, and new staff members being added to their team with a 50 percent increase in year on year turnover. After a consolidated year of growth in 2021, TishTash has seen a 50 percent year-on-year increase in turnover.
Born and educated in the UK, Hatharall-Shawe spent her early career in academia studying for a PhD in Psychology and Marketing with a keen interest in understanding people on a deeper level. She shifted base to Dubai in 2010, and worked briefly for Abu Dhabi Media, and then subsequently, followed her dream and launched TishTash Beauty and Wellness Communications agency in 2012.
The TishTash management team accredit their people-centric corporate culture and flexible working hours to their growth. By implementing a 4.5 working day week in 2021, TishTash’s all-female team is helping steer the agency towards its future plans for expansion. In 2021, TishTash received the award for the Best Medium Consultancy at the PRCA PR Awards 2021 and People and Culture and Leader at The Gulf Capital Awards.
Name: Nicole Rodrigues
Designation: Founder
Company: Diva Group of Companies
Industry: Entrepreneur
Launched in 2003 and based in Dubai, Nicole Rodrigues, founder and CEO, Diva Group of Companies initially launched with Diva Modelling and Events in 2003 on their roster. After its massive success, Rodrigues went on to branch out into real estate with Diva Holdings. By 2010, the company launched NM Investments and then went on to include consulting and accounting services.
In 2015, she was recognised in the Outstanding Category at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards. Some of Diva Group of Companies brands include Diva Dubai Model Agency Production, Diva Dubai Productions, Diva Dubai Promotions, Diva Dubai Events, and Diva Dubai Models. With the Group’s companies, Rodrigues has leveraged her own personal experience to not only serve as a role model for aspiring models, but has also redefined the industry’s best practices.
Born and raised in Mumbai, Rodrigues forayed into modelling at age 16 and was ultimately discovered and then launched professionally by Vikram Phadnis, a well-known Indian fashion designer. She later went on to grace the covers of top Indian magazines, including Health and Nutrition and Femina. It was this very experience that enabled Rodrigues to diversify and establish synergised businesses which provide the opportunity of bringing vital services in-house. It also enabled a whole new revenue stream that organically builds on the success and growth of the Diva Group.
Name: Noor Sweid
Designation: General Partner
Company: Global Ventures
Industry: Investment
With a zeal for enabling disruptive technology companies and their emerging market founders to solve real problems while changing the world with measurable impact, Noor Sweid, general partner, Global Ventures has been ranked by Forbes magazine as one of the “World’s Top 50 Women in Tech”.
Her previous roles include CIO at The Dubai Future Foundation, and founder of ZenYoga studio chain, the largest chain of yoga and pilates studios in the Middle East which she later sold in 2014 to Cedarbridge. With Bachelor degrees in Finance and Economics from Boston College and an MBA from MIT Sloan, Sweid started her career in the US as a biotechnology and pharmaceutical strategy consultant.
As one of the most important venture capitalists in the MENA region, Sweid has many firsts, including being the first Arab woman to scale, IPO and operate a public company in the MENA region. In April 2008, she listed Depa, an interior contracting company, on the NASDAQ Dubai and the London Stock Exchange (DEPA:DU) for $1.1bn.
In conjunction to her roles on the board of Global Ventures’ portfolio companies, she is also the director for MIT Sloan and TechWadi, the chairperson of the Middle East Venture Capital Association, and the independent chairperson of the board for Clue Health. Also recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, she is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Name: Ola Doudin
Designation: CEO and Co-founder
Company: BitOasis
Industry: Fintech
A pioneer in the region’s cryptocurrency ecosystem, Ola Doudin, CEO and co-founder of BitOasis, launched the first cryptocurrency platform in the Middle East in 2015. BitOasis is the Middle East and North Africa’s (MENA) largest digital asset trading exchange and platform that is headquartered in the UAE and currently aims its services at individuals, professional traders and investors across the region and internationally.
In 2013, Doudin purchased her first-ever Bitcoin and was compelled by its potential. One year later, she launched the Dubai-based start-up BitOasis, an online wallet and exchange that’s available across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, and was the first to use multi-signature technology to protect digital assets. With an engineering background, Doudin began her career in IT Risk Advisory at Ernst & Young in London, in addition to working with Aramex founder Fadi Ghandour.
A venture that began with a single crypto, Bitcoin; now there are more than 40 digital currencies which investors can trade on the platform. The growth in the regional market is reflected in the robust upward trajectory of BitOasis and today, the platform is available to users in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan. The venture has received a preliminary license to operate in the UAE from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority at the Abu Dhabi Global Market Authorities.
Name: Eng. Rabaa Abdulaziz Al-Othaim
Designation: Founder and Architect/Engineer
Company: 4A Architects
Industry: Engineering
Both an architect and an engineer, Rabaa Abdulaziz Al-Othaim, founder and architect/engineer, 4A Architects, received her Bachelor’s degree from Effat University in Saudi Arabia. Locally, she attained experience in many local architecture firms followed by Shanghai and London. Subsequently, Eng. Al-Othaim then went on to obtain a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Europe in Madrid – Spain.
In March 2018, she launched the Office of Four Architects (4A), a subsidiary of the Abdulaziz Al-Othaim & Sons Holding Group. Initially based only in Riyadh, 4A Architects now has offices in the United Arab Emirates, France, Jordan, and Lebanon. Leaving an indelible mark on the Kingdom’s health, hospitality, residential, and commercial sectors alike, 4A is aligned with the Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s call to develop the vital role of women in entrepreneurship.
With innovation and a commitment to providing world-class quality in architecture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Al-Othaim and her highly skilled engineering team are developing the urban landscape of buildings of the highest quality. Spread in different locations in the territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and within the newly planned mega projects, some of their projects include Red Sea Projects, NEOM, and Diriyah Gate Development Authority, to name a few. Keeping abreast with different systems and their application in designs, Four Architects Office (4A) has expanded its services for landscape design and urban planning, consulting architecture, interiors, as well as implementing project management.
The international experiences of the companies collaborating with the Four Architects Office (4A) merged with the architectural heritage experiences gained by Al-Othaim and her team have set benchmarks across Saudi architecture. She is also member of the board of Abdulaziz Al Othaim & Sons Holding Company (ASO&SONS) and a member of the Saudi Council of Engineers since August 2013.
Name: Raja Al Mazrouei
Designation: Executive Vice President
Company: Fintech Hive DIFC
Industry: Fintech
Overseeing the region’s first FinTech accelerator, Raja Al Mazrouei, executive vice president, Fintech Hive DIFC plays a key role in establishing awareness, accelerating outreach and fostering partnerships in emerging FinTech markets. Some of these include the US, Europe, Africa, India, Asia, and the UK, with the aim of aligning DIFC as the region’s leading innovation destination for FinTech.
In her role, Al Mazrouei manages the region’s first FinTech accelerator, which amalgamates government entities, entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and technology partners to build technologies that benefit the financial industry. With over a decade of experience in the financial services sector, she has developed an ecosystem for financial technology entrepreneurs that has been a primary contributor in the emirate being named a top ten global FinTech hub. Throughout her career, she has held senior positions at Dubai Holding, National Bonds Corporation and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority.
An executive graduate from Harvard Business School, Al Mazrouei holds an MBA in Global Leadership and Management from the United Arab Emirates University. She is also a member of the Harvard Business School MENA and also on the Central Asia Advisory Board based in Boston. Previously, she was senior vice president of Marketing and Corporate Communication at DIFC, where she managed digital marketing functions, branding, and the public relations for the Centre on a global and regional scale.
In addition to key roles as head of Operations and head of Information Technology at DIFC Authority, Al Mazrouei also held the position of Commissioner of Data Protection at DIFC. The first and largest financial technology accelerator in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, DIFC FinTech Hive is de rigeur for startups under FinTech, InsurTech, RegTech, and Islamic FinTech. The AccelerateHer programme increased to over 40 women in 2021 as well as increased the number of participants from within financial institutions.
Name: Rasha Al Hoshan
Designation: Owner and Founder
Company: Rasha Al Hoshan Est.
Industry: Entrepreneur
An active Board and Executive Committee member of her family business Hoshan Group, Rasha Al Hoshan is the owner and founder of Rasha Al-Hoshan Est. Born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1995, upon completing her Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science-Middle East from the American University in Washington DC, USA, she also studied architecture and interior design at the University of Maryland and at Marymount University, respectively.
She later pursued her passion of both design and politics and subsequently, went on to earn a Master’s degree in Interior Design – Exhibit Design and in 1998, graduated with Honours, from Pratt Institute NYC, USA.
She joined her family business at Hoshan Group once she returned back to Saudi Arabia and launched the Hoshan Design Office and with the Hoshan Group, created The Hoshan luxury furniture showroom.
An industry game-changer, this introduced Nada Debs, Fendi Casa, and B&B Italia to the Saudi market, in addition to the furniture collections of Herman Miller.
Over the course of 13 years at the firm, she worked as a design manager, served as a general manager, as well as became a board member, a Corporate Group Business Development director, an Executive Committee member, and a board member at the distinguished Kingdom Holding Company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia until September 2017.
Name: Renée McGowan
Designation: President – Asia, Middle East and Africa
Company: Mercer
Industry: Consulting
Based in Dubai, Renée McGowan is Mercer’s President, Asia Middle East and Africa (AMEA) and leads the business across more than 15 markets in this fast-growing, dynamic region. She is also chairperson of Mercer in Japan, and Executive Director on Mercer boards in China and Hong Kong.
Passionate about making a difference in people’s lives through advising organisations on their health, wealth and career strategies for employees, McGowan has held several key leadership roles at Mercer. This includes spearheading the growth and strategy of Mercer’s retirement business as Global Leader for Individual Wealth and driving the retail pension business as Chief Customer and Marketing Officer for the Pacific region.
A global executive who has helmed businesses in Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, New York, Singapore and Sydney, McGowan is also a fervent advocate for financial inclusion and security. She led Mercer’s partnership with the World Economic Forum on the Retirement and Investment Systems Reform Project between 2017 and 2018 and was named one of Employee Benefit Adviser’s 2018 Top Women in Benefit Advising (USA).
Her passion for uplifting and empowering other women also led her to become a mentor for entrepreneurs in developing nations as part of the Cherie Blaire Foundation’s Mentoring Women in Business Program. She is a mentor with StreetWise, a non-profit that empowers unemployed individuals with skills and resources.
Her other achievements include being named Top 10 CMO’s in Australia (CMO50) by CMO Magazine (Australia) for two consecutive years. She was also awarded a Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal by the Australian Government for delivering humanitarian services overseas.
Name: Renuka Jagtiani
Designation: Chairwoman and CEO
Company: Landmark Group
Industry: Retail
For over 25 years, Renuka Jagtiani, chairwoman and CEO of Landmark Group, has guided the Group’s corporate strategy and grown the fashion and hospitality businesses for the region’s leading retail and hospitality conglomerate in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. A cornerstone of the Group’s journey, Jagtiani was instrumental in creating the high-street fash-ion brand Splash in 1993. In her current role, she oversees all retail and hospitality operations, leading strategic growth through expansion into new markets and driving the group’s CSR initiatives.
Under her leadership, the Group forayed into e-commerce and invested in the MENA region’s largest privately-owned logistics and distribution hub, with a vision to reach customers, no matter where they shop.
Landmark chairman Micky Jagtiani, Renuka’s husband, founded the group in 1973 with a single store in Bahrain and has successfully grown it into one of the largest retail and hospitality conglomerates in the region. The couple were inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame at the 2017 World Retail Congress held at Madinat Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai.
Last year, the Landmark Group and Jagtiani Foundation committed AED15m ($4.08m) towards accredited NGOs, food banks and healthcare workers on the frontlines to provide aid to help the local communities in need wherever the retail group operates across the GCC and India.
Name: Rola Abu Manneh
Designation: CEO
Company: Standard Chartered Bank, UAE
Industry: Banking
Rola Abu Manneh is the chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank UAE, a role she has held since August 2018 and is the first Emirati woman to head a bank in the UAE. In her role, Abu Manneh has been responsible for transforming the UAE business into one of the biggest five markets for the Standard Chartered Group. Over the years, she has championed women empowerment and female entrepreneurship through different initiatives and is committed to supporting the wider community by providing university students with mentorship programmes.
As a testament to her efforts, in February 2021 for the second consecutive year, Abu Manneh was featured as one of the Middle East’s Power Business-women by Forbes Middle East.
During her first year with the Bank, Rola was included in Arabian Business’ ‘World’s Most Powerful Arabs in 2019’ list. During the same year, Financial News listed her as one of the most influential female leaders. More recently, under her steer, the bank was honoured in 2020 as Best Banking and Financial Sector Institution in Supporting Gender Balance by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Before joining Standard Chartered Bank, Abu Manneh was the Head of Corporate and Investment Banking for Abu Dhabi at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).
According to Abu Manneh, a key area of opportunity for women is in digital and technology. She told Arabian Business, “A great way to leverage the rise in technology is by equipping women with the necessary tools and resources needed to excel through training and education programmes.
“Standard Chartered is championing initiatives in this capacity, such as the Women in Tech and Goal pro-grammes.
“These initiatives aim to educate women of all ages to adapt to the changing technological advancements and leverage them in their professions.”
Name: Dr. Saeeda Jaffar
Designation: Country Manager and Senior Vice President
Company: Visa Group CEMEA
Industry: Finance
Dr. Saeeda Jaffar was appointed Visa Group Country manager, and senior vice president on 16 June 2021 for its operations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Based in Dubai, she manages the global digital payments leader to oversee its presence in six countries. As part of the CEMEA Leadership Team, she reports directly to Andrew Torre, regional president for the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA).
Dr. Jaffer told Arabian Business, “The past year has brought tremendous change to commerce in the Middle East with consumers and merchants shifting to digital with greater speed and urgency. As we continue the path towards recovery, Visa’s mission to help individuals, businesses and economies to thrive is more important than ever. With digitisation high on the regional government agenda, I am looking forward to further helping establish Visa as a partner of choice, while unlocking growth opportunities for new and existing clients and partners across the GCC.”
With robust experience in financial services and payments expertise, prior to her role at Visa, Dr. Jaffer had served as managing director for the Middle East at Alvarez & Marsal. Previously, she held key leadership positions in the Middle East for both McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company, working with clients in the private and public sectors.
With a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University, she also holds a Master of Science degree and a Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which she gained through the HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum EDAAD Scholarship.
In addition to her consulting experience with public and private sector clients, Dr. Jaffer focuses on restructuring, PMI and operational programs, strategy, and transformation. She is specialised in financial services, including government institutions, private equity firms, private banks, universal banks, and sovereign wealth funds.
Name: Dr. Saliha Afridi, PsyD
Designation: Clinical Psychologist, Co-founder and Managing Director
Company: The LightHouse Arabia
Industry: Mental Health
Raised and educated in the US, Dr. Saliha Afridi, PsyD, clinical psychologist, co-founder and managing director, The LightHouse Arabia shifted base to Dubai in 2008. After working in private practice for several years, in 2011, she co-founded The LightHouse Arabia with the objective of fostering a positive impact on the mental health of families and individuals in the region.
A community mental health and wellness centre, The LightHouse Arabia provides quality psychological and psychiatric care to families, children, adults, and couples. They also promote mental wellness through their educational and training programs, working with corporations, schools, hospitals, and other institutions.
Observing the gap within mental health literacy, she brought the internationally acclaimed Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to the UAE in 2017. This made The LightHouse Arabia the only licensed provider for the evidence-based course which trains teens and adults to become accredited mental health first aiders.
Also, The Raymee Grief Centre at The LightHouse Arabia provides free one-on-one grief consultations and grief support groups for individuals and families who are affected by grief. Moreover, they work with schools all year around and along with their team of specialists, provide free consultations to school counselors and Special Educational Need (SEN) coordinators on reports done by other psychologists or professionals.
As a clinical psychologist with experience across a broad spectrum of mental health issues, Dr. Afridi has had extensive experience consulting with executives and the corporate workplace in areas including coaching, transformational counseling, and stress management. With a particular interest in parenting, just a part of her expertise includes providing assessments for ADHD, learning difficulties, and childhood developmental disorders. Dr. Afridi is also an advocate to make mental health practices more accessible through licensing and insurance reforms as part of her vision.
Name: Samar AlShorafa
Designation: Founder and CEO
Company: She is Arab
Industry: Diversity
An international development professional and entrepreneur, Samar AlShorafa co-founded She Is Arab in 2019, the first dedicated speakers’ platform for Arab women in the world. With a zeal for social impact, she is driven by an interest in diversity and inclusion and achieving gender equality, in addition to entrepreneurship and innovation.
AlShorafa is also an advisor and board member to her family business, Farm Food for Food Industries, where she plays a role in business and strategy development. Widely recognised for her unwavering efforts, she was featured on The Arab Power List 2021 by Arabian Business amongst a broad group of noteworthy women leaders from around the world. She was also awarded the prestigious ‘Vital Voices Grow Fellowship 2021’ as one of 50 global women leaders driving a business with social impact.
She is Arab is an initiative by Arab women for Arab women to highlight their achievements and impact. She is Arab invites thought leaders and role models to participate.
By providing professional and leadership development opportunities through networking, this tech-driven network has been launched to empower, mentor, and connect these inspiring women. AlShorafa told Arabian Business, “I have always been passionate
empowerment, and I believe it is time for Arab women to own the narrative and tell their own story.
Name: Sarah Omolewu
Designation: Managing Partner
Company: Maven Marketing and Events
Industry: Marketing
As an American who has lived in the Gulf for over a decade, Sarah Omolewu, managing partner Maven Marketing and Events has positioned herself as a facilitator for US brands seeking to expand into the region through franchise opportunities and joint ventures.
She co-founded a boutique marketing and PR agency in Atlanta, Georgia specialising in fundraising and partnerships for celebrity non-profit foundations prior to moving to Dubai in 2009 and founding Maven Marketing and Events two years later. Identifying the untapped entertainment market potential in Dubai, in September 2012, Omolewu launched her agency and went on to pioneer a series of firsts in the region. She led the first female-owned agency to secure talent for the Saudi market, including Ronaldinho and Kevin O’Leary at Misk in 2018 and Usain Bolt for the G20 Youth Summit in 2020.
The region’s first full-service entertainment marketing and public relations consultancy, Maven Marketing and Events works with Hollywood talent and international celebrities from media, sports, film, and music realms. With a discerning team of industry experts who endeavor to fully understand both the brand and the customer, Maven Marketing and Events is the one of the first privately-owned marketing agency to have organised a major red carpet movie premiere in the UAE (Suicide Squad with Will Smith
in 2016).
Name: Her Highness Sayyida Basma Al Said
Designation: Founder
Company: Whispers of Serenity Oman
Industry: Mental Health
A well-established Mental Health Clinical Counselor, founder of the first mental health clinic in Oman, Whispers of Serenity and founder of mental health campaign Not Alone. She is also a hypnotherapist and PTSD trainer with over 21 years of experience seeing and treating patients from a wide array of disorders. She holds a master’s degree in Health Counseling in 2008 from Curtin University of Technology in Australia.
Sayyida Basma is a pioneer in mental health issues awareness and is renowned for dealing head on with taboo subjects in the Middle East such as abuse and eating disorders. She is one of the few psychotherapists in the Gulf to use techniques such Hypnotherapy as well as her most recently earned training of Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PET) for PTSD from Harvard University.
On 2014, Her Highness initiated “Not Alone” an ongoing campaign to create societal awareness of the importance of mental well-being. This is a living proof of her dedication and ambition towards the betterment of the society. Not Alone campaign has opened a messaging support line on the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic where it provides a psychological and emotional support dedicated to teens, the elderly and most importantly, the frontline health workers. She also spearheaded on providing free counseling for individuals and groups during the second wave of Covid-19 in India, Beirut incident and the current situation for Palestinians.
Moreover, she is the current Honorary President of Oman Heritage – a team that looks after and preserves Omani practices and culture. Recognised not only in the Arab world but also internationally, she has attended and delivered a total of 800 in governmental and 400 in private institutional talks, workshop and webinars. She also has been featured and interviewed by prominent networks and media such as CNN Arabia, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar Arabia to name a few.
Awarded as International Social Responsibility Ambassador by The International Union for Social Responsibility (IUSR) for 2020 and 2021, and has been honored as one of the 50 Omani women who have played a significant role in the country’s development and for their achievements in the field of their work by the Honorable Lady, Wife of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik on Omani Women’s Day 2020.
On February 2022, World Humanitarian Forum has welcomed Sayyida Basma as one of the new members of Medical and Health Programming board while The Diana Award- the only charity named after the legacy of Princess Diana has announced about her being the first Arab to judge young candidates around the world who have excelled in social work. Moreover, she was also one of the speakers to the Inaugural of Forbes USA for World’s Most Powerful Women for International Women’s Day where HE Hillary Clinton had headlined last March this year.
Name: Shanila Laiju
Designation: CEO
Company: Medcare Hospitals and Medical Centres
Industry: Healthcare
With a career trajectory that evolved from a clinic supervisor to operations manager, and then group chief operating officer; today, Dr. Shanila Laiju is the chief executive officer of Medcare Hospitals and Medical Centres. Despite having studied dentistry in India in 1994, after starting her family, Dr. Laiji became a hospital administrator instead to afford her more time with her children.
After a four-year hiatus, she joined an Aster clinic in a supervisory role and was promoted after three years to work at Aster hospital. At that time, the hospital was very small with only 14 beds. Her hard work and tenacity paid off as she rose through the ranks and in 2006, was appointed hospital administrator before joining Medcare in 2008.
Medcare is a part of the Aster DM Healthcare Group, which serves over 10 million patients a year through a network of hospitals, clinics and pharmacies in the Middle East, India and the Philippines. Aligned with modern medical technology and innovation, the Medcare network comprises of 4 multispecialty hospitals, 4 speciality centres, 9 medical centres, and over 350 highly qualified doctors.
With over 18 years of success and fostering a people-focused hospital administration, Dr. Laiju has spearheaded organisational planning, multimillion-dollar capital projects, contract negotiations while also increasing the brand’s visibility and growth.
Name: Shenin Hamid
Designation: Founder and CEO
Company: Inspire
Industry: Marketing
Shenin Hamid is the founder and CEO of Inspire – a Dubai-based events and experience agency. Hamid used passion and talent to build her business from scratch at just age 19, making her one of the few successful youngest entrepreneurs in the UAE. Under her leadership, Inspire has grown from an idea in her living room into a regional success, executing between 200 and 250 events and experiential campaigns a year across KSA, Dubai, Qatar and Kuwait.
In 2020, Inspire was awarded the 2020 – EMEA Award for Most Innovative Production Agency; in 2021 – MEA Award for Best Events and Activations Agency, and in 2022 – MEA Award for Most Innovative Events Agency in the UAE. This highlighted their ability to successfully pivot under the natural circumstances leading to covid19 while still servicing their clients which ultimately ensured even better results.
Under Shenin’s leadership, Inspire has grown significantly through the years by offering tailor-made technology-driven event and activation experiences to clients across the globe.
In Hamid’s words, “Inspire focuses on delivering custom made curated experiences specifically tailored for each client/brand. Technology plays an important role in how we serve our clients and help create an interactive band-led experience especially today. We strongly believe our focus in tech-driven solutions over the years has been extremely rewarding for our clients”
Hamid is driven by passion, ambition and empathy. She actively supports young entrepreneurs at various start-up hubs based in Dubai and Silicon Valley and is a mentor to many young aspiring women-led businesses around the world.
“Women are natural problem solvers; it comes to us so naturally that we don’t think about it twice. It is a gift that flows into every area of our lives that we often take for granted.
“We are born with ingrained skills necessary for effective leadership – this is a massive advantage that with realisation is the most powerful thing”.
Name: Sima Ganwani VedName:
Designation: Founder and Chairwoman
Company: Apparel Group
Industry: Retail
Sima Ganwani Ved is the founder and chairwoman of the Apparel Group, one of the largest retailers in the Middle East based out of the UAE. The multi-billion-dollar company is home to more than 75 brands with over 1850+ retail stores in 14 countries with over 16,500+ human capital. Over the years, Ved has been the recipient of many awards professionally and personally, some of which include The Philanthrepreneur of the Year, Retailer of the Year, Great Place to Work, Great Women’s Award and Emirates Woman of the Year.
Ved was born in Africa and brought to Dubai by her self-made entrepreneur father in the 1970s. She studied in King’s College London to achieve her Bachelor’s degree and subsequently an MBA in business management. She began her entrepreneurial journey at the age of 20, working in her dad’s shopping mall in early 90s as the manageress of a department. To her, that set the tone of her value for hard work and business ethics.
Ved is an active member of many world organisations like YPO and CEO. Her compassion for underprivileged children led her to mentoring her teenage daughter to launch her own Athleisure brand F5global, some of the profits of which will go towards the education of such kids. She simultaneously has mentored and founded a new social commerce beauty platform NESSA with her eldest.
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