Female CEO Appointments In 2022

As women continue to gradually increase their presence in the world’s top jobs, here are some of last year’s most notable female CEO appointments globally.

Christel

Heydemann

CEO, Orange Group

Headquarters: France

Sector: Telecommunications

Heydemann was appointed CEO of the Orange Group in April 2022, becoming the first woman to lead France’s biggest telecom operator. The Ecole Polytechnique engineering graduate has been a member of the Board of Directors of Orange Group since 2017. She first started her career in 1997 at Boston Consulting Group before joining Alcatel in 1999, where she played a role in the merger of Alcatel and Lucent.

Dana Al Sabah

Group CEO, KIPCO

Headquarters: Kuwait

Sector: Investments

Al Sabah was appointed KIPCO’s Group CEO in early 2022, having been a board member since 2020. She became the first female CEO in the group’s history. Al Sabah also helped establish the American University of Kuwait and the United Education Company in 2003. She now sits on the boards of the Gulf Insurance Group, OSN, Kamco Invest, and KIPCO.

Güliz Öztürk

CEO, Pegasus Airlines

Headquarters: Türkiye

Sector: Aviation

The first woman to lead a Turkish airline, Öztürk, took the helm of Pegasus Airlines in May 2022, succeeding

Mehmet Nane, who was elected vice-chairperson of the board. Having started her career with Turkish Airlines in 1993, Öztürk has 30 years of experience. She joined Pegasus Airlines as head of scheduled flights in 2005. She was appointed Chief Commercial Officer in 2010, a role she held for 12 years.

Gwendoline Cazenave

CEO, Eurostar Group

Headquarters: Belgium

Sector: Transportation

Eurostar Group appointed Cazenave as CEO in October 2022. With over 20 years of experience, Cazenave previously held high-level roles in the French railway Group SNCF. Headquartered in Brussels, Eurostar Group holding was formed in May 2022 as an alliance between

Eurostar and Thalys. The holding company owns 100% of the shares of Eurostar and Thalys, which remain fullfledged railway companies and are headquartered in London and Brussels, respectively.

Helen Lofthouse

CEO and Managing Director, ASX

Headquarters: Australia

Sector: Financial Markets

Australian Securities Exchange operator ASX appointed Lofthouse as its first female CEO, replacing Dominic Stevens, in August 2022. Lofthouse joined ASX in September 2015, which operates Australia’s primary securities exchange. She previously led the ASX Markets division, which is the group’s largest individual business by revenue.

Randa Sadik

CEO, Arab Bank

Headquarters: Jordan

Sector: Banking & Financial Services

Sadik has been Arab Bank’s CEO since February 2022, before which she was Deputy CEO from 2010. Succeeding Nemeh Sabbagh, she became the 92-year-old company’s first female chief. She has over 36 years of industry experience, including 24 years at the National Bank of Kuwait. Sadik is also Chairman of the Arab Tunisian Bank and the Management Committee of Al-Arabi Investment Group, and Vice-Chairman of the Arab Bank Australia.

Wadha Ahmed

Al-Khateeb

CEO, Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC)

Headquarters: Kuwait

Sector: Oil and gas

Al-Khateeb assumed her role as CEO of KNPC in November 2022, where she oversees 6,270 direct employees. Al-Khateeb has 28 years of oil sector experience. She is also a chairperson and board member for the Kuwait Paraxylene Production Company and a member of the Kuwait Women Cultural & Social Society, among other roles. Before her current position, she was Deputy CEO of the Mina Abdullah Refinery.