Women are becoming famous in boardrooms throughout the Arab World as reformations and empowerment initiatives facilitate new-fangled prospects. However, their future successes will be fabricated on the work of ground-breaking Arab women who arranged the roots for the next generation of business leaders in the territory.
In this article, we outline five such Arab women
Sarah Al Suhaimi
Tadawul, Saudi Arabia
Al Suhaimi has headed the Saudi Arabian Stock Exchange, also dubbed Tadawul, since February 2017. She was the first Saudi woman to hold the spot at a colossal stock market in the Middle East. She was reappointed to the chair of the board of directors in 2020.
Al Suhaimi has also been the CEO and an affiliate of the board of directors of the National Commercial Bank (NCB) since March 2014. In April 2021, NBC combined with banking company Samba and was rebranded as Saudi National Bank.
Al Suhaimi assisted as a CIO at Jadwa Investment. In addition, she was a vice-chairperson of the advisory committee to the board of the Capital Market Authority betwixt 2013 and 2015. Bloomberg Businessweek also named her one of the ’50 People to Watch’ in 2017.
Randa Mohammed Sadik
CEO of Arab Bank, Jordan
Arab Bank, one of the biggest financial entities in the Middle East, was the top private-sector business in the Arab World during its inception in 1930 in Jerusalem. Presently, the firm’s headquarters lie within Amman, Jordon. In addition, the bank encompasses over 600 branches in five continents.
Sadik hailed from Jordan and served for more than a decade as deputy CEO of the Arab Bank before emerging as a CEO in 2021.
She formerly worked at the National Bank of Kuwait for more than two decades.
Areej Mohsin Haider Darwish
Mohsin Haider Darwish’s Automotive, Construction, Equipment, and Renewable Energy Group, Oman
Mohsin Haider Darwish, a celebrated and pioneering business house in the Middle East, received a place on the 2020 Forbes list of the Top 100 Arab Family Businesses. The business cluster possesses a versatile business presence with varied interests in contracting, trading, and projects. In addition, it has brought several international brands to Oman, such as Jaguar, McLaren, Land Rover, MG, Volvo, Ford, Huawei, Ashok Leyland, Hitachi, DAIKIN, and KDK.
Darwish established her graduation certification from Sultan Qaboos University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Her career commenced with a Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) position. She joined the family business, Mohsin Haider Darwish, in 1994. With her father’s guidance, support, and inspiration, she worked her way up to emerge as a chairperson of its Construction, Automotive, Equipment, and Renewable Energy group of operations.
Sheikha Hanadi Al-Thani
Amwal and Al-Waab City, Qatar
Sheikha Hanadi commenced her career as an assistant lecturer for economics at Qatar University. In 1998, Hanadi founded the Qatar Ladies Investment Company – Amwal, the first investment firm granted a license by the Qatar Central Bank to proceed with investment banking and asset and wealth management within the nation.
In 2005, she founded the Al-Waab City, an urban community development presenting over 1.2 million square meters of combined-utilisation facilities. She is also a founding leader of Q-Auto, a car dealership.
Sheikha Hanadi is a chairperson of INJAZ Qatar, an education and training entity. Hanadi is also a board member of INJAZ Al-Arab. In addition, she is an affiliate of the Middle East board of Planet Finance and the Legatum Centre for Development and Entrepreneurship at MIT.
The Arabian Business Magazine enumerated Hanadi as one of the Most Influential Arabs for numerous successive years. The Arabian Business Magazine enumerated Hanadi as one of the Most Influential Arabs for numerous successive years. She also received honourable recognition from the World Economic Forum in 2005.
Raja Easa Al-Gurg
Group Managing Director and Vice-Chairperson of Easa Saleh Al-Gurg Group, the UAE
Known for her leadership in the family business, a conglomerate comprising over 20 business enterprises, Al-Gurg is a business leader leaving a mark via her robust support for female Arab entrepreneurs. Al Gurg’s Easa Saleh Al-Gurg maintains a presence in several sectors, including construction, retail, industrial, and real estate. She is present on the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry board and is the chairperson of the Dubai Business Women Council.
Al-Gurg assists as a deputy chairperson of the National Bank of Fujairah and is present on the advisory board of the Coutts Bank. Coutts Bank is the wealth-management wing of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. In addition, she is on the board of representatives of the community development foundation, Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Global Initiatives.
She serves as a second-in-command chairperson of the National Bank of Fujairah and is on the advisory board of Coutts Bank, the wealth-management division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group. She is also affiliated with the board of trustees of Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Global Initiatives, a community-development foundation.