UAE women lead the Arab power list

Raja Easa Al Gurg has been rated the third most influential woman in the Arab world.

Women from the UAE dominated the list of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women with as many as 18 making it to the top this year.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance in the UAE, is revealed as the number one most powerful Arab woman in government in 2017.

Raja Easa Al Gurg, managing director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, has been rated the third most influential woman in the Arab world.

Al Gurg has overseen the powerful Al Gurg Group, one of the UAE's oldest family firms, since 1960. Founded five decades ago, the conglomerate operates 28 companies and boasts 370 partnerships with multinationals, such as Unilever, British American Tobacco and Siemens. Al Gurg sits on several corporate boards, including HSBC Bank Middle East and Coutts Bank. She's frequently part of official trade delegations and is also active in philanthropic and women societies in the UAE.


The UAE is followed by Egypt and Lebanon with 16 and 12 women respectively.
Saudi Arabia's Lubna S. Olayan, CEO of Olayan Financing Company, and Lobna Helal, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, were ranked first and second respectively.

Among the others to be ranked in the list from the UAE are Dalya Al Muthanna, president and CEO of GE Gulf; Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, chairwoman of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority; Suzanne Al Anani, CEO of Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects; Maysa Jalbout, CEO of Al Ghurair Foundation for Education; Majida Al Rashid, head of real estate management at the Dubai Land Department; Maryam Al Suwaidi, deputy CEO of licensing, supervision and enforcement at the Securities and Commodities Authority; Hana Al Rostamani, group head of personal banking at First Abu Dhabi Bank; and Maitha Al Dossari, CEO of Emaar Entertainment.

Other UAE female executives who made it to the list are Amina Al Rustamani, Group CEO of Tecom Group; Shahla Abdul Razak Bastaki, deputy CEO of Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; Shaikha Al Maskari, chairwoman of Al Maskari Holdings; Alia Al Mazrui, COO of Mazrui Holding; Maryam Al Mheiri, CEO of Media Zone Authority Abu Dhabi and twofour54; Maryam Mohamed Fekri, executive VP, COO, head of clearing, settlement and depository division at Dubai Financial Market; Kawthar Makahlah, CEO of BCI Group; Nadia Zaal, CEO of Zaya; and Amna BinHendi, deputy chairwoman of BinHendi Enterprises.

Saudi Arabia leads the charge, with businesswomen climbing the ladder across private and government organisations. This year saw Rania Nashar, CEO of Samba Financial Group, become the first woman in the Kingdom to head a commercial bank. Latifa Homoud Alsabhan was promoted to CFO of the Arab National Bank. Sarah Al Suhaimi was appointed as the chair of the country's stock exchange, Tadawul. Lubna S. Olayan, CEO of the Olayan Financing Company, tops the businesswomen list for the third consecutive year.

In the world of social media, Huda Kattan, a Hollywood trained make-up artist and beauty consultant based in Dubai, tops the list with over 23.8 million followers. Following her are Joelle Mardinian, a successful beauty and make-up entrepreneur, and YouTube star Hayla Al Ghazal, with over 9.3 million and 7 million subscribers respectively.

- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com