100 MOST POWERFUL BUSINESSWOMEN 2023

1 Hana Al Rostamani

• Group CEO Company: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

Nationality: Emirati Sector: Banking and Financial Services

Al Rostamani became the first female CEO of FAB in 2021. The bank is the U.A.E.’s largest, with total assets of $312.4 billion as of September 2022. It recorded net profits of $2.98 billion in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 19% compared to the same period in 2021. In June 2022, FAB completed a merger with Bank Audi Egypt under the umbrella of FABMISR, making it one of the largest foreign banks in Egypt, with assets worth $10 billion as of March 2022. In October 2021, FAB became the first U.A.E. and GCC bank to join the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. Al Rostamani is also chair of the Global Council on Sustainable Development Goals and a board member of MasterCard Advisory and the Institute of International Finance.

2 Raja Easa Al Gurg

• Chairperson & Managing Director

Company: Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group (ESAG)

Nationality: Emirati

Sector: Diversified

ESAG has been operating for more than 60 years, and Al Gurg has been with the company for more than 30 years. The group launched two new businesses in Q4 2022: Al Gurg Distribution and Al Gurg Joinery. It also invested in five new large-scale real estate projects. In 2022, Al Gurg was appointed as Honorary Pro-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University Dubai. In 2023, the family business plans to enhance its contributions toward building the Hamdan Bin Rashid Cancer Charity Hospital, which will serve patients unable to afford quality care.

3 Lubna S. Olayan

• Chair; Chair of the Executive Committee and Deputy Chair

Company: Saudi British Bank (SABB); Olayan Financing Company (OFC)

Nationality: Saudi

Sector: Banking and Financial Services

Olayan became the first woman to join the board of a publicly-listed Saudi company in 2004. In February 2022, the Olayan Financing Company announced a new partnership with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology through the Suliman S. Olayan Foundation to establish the Suliman S. Olayan Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Olayan was appointed to join the World Economic Forum’s Board of Trustees in September 2022. She is also chairman of the Saudi Swedish Business Council.

4 Shaikha Khaled Al Bahar

• Deputy Group CEO Company: National Bank of Kuwait Group (NBK) Nationality: Kuwaiti Sector: Banking and Financial Services

Al Bahar is the Chairperson of NBK Egypt and NBK France, and serves on the boards of NBK (International) PLC and NBK Global Asset Management Limited. Al Bahar has been the Deputy Group CEO since March 2014. NBK operates across four continents and employs more than 8,500 people, with 140 branches in 13 countries. It had $113.4 billion in total assets as of the end of September 2022. In 2022, Al Bahar received an award for her Distinguished Services to Arab Banking from the Arab Bankers Association.

5 Renuka Jagtiani

• Chairwoman Company: Landmark Group Nationality: Indian Sector: Retail

Jagtiani has been at the helm of her family business for more than 26 years. The retail and hospitality conglomerate operates in the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. It employs 48,000 people and has a portfolio of 43 brands across 2,200 stores in 21 countries. The international brands under its umbrella include Steve Madden, Krispy Kreme, and Pablosky. The group founded the LIFE Trust in 2000 and is devoted to providing quality education to those who do not have access to it.

6 Wadha Ahmed Al-Khateeb

• CEO Company: Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Nationality: Kuwaiti

Sector: Oil and Gas

Al-Khateeb assumed her role as CEO of KNPC in November 2022, where she oversees 6,270 employees. The company recorded total revenues of $33.8 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March 2022. Al-Khateeb has 28 years of experience in the oil sector. She previously established the Worker Woman Committee in the Oil and Petrochemical Industries Workers Confederation. She also led the registration of the Flare Gas Recovery Unit—the first Kuwaiti project to be listed in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Al-Khateeb 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 taking her current position, she was deputy CEO at the Mina Abdullah Refinery.

7 Sarah Al Suhaimi

• Chairperson Company: Saudi Tadawul Group Nationality: Saudi Sector: Banking and Financial Services

Al Suhaimi has 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She was appointed chair of Lazard’s financial advisory business for MENA in September 2022. She also serves as chairperson of the Saudi Tadawul Group. In November 2022, FTSE Russell updated the Saudi Tadawul Group’s investability weightings on the FTSE All-World Index, the FTSE Global Mid Cap Index, and the FTSE Emerging Index. In December 2022, the group signed an MoU with Boursa Kuwait to explore collaboration opportunities in Fintech, products, and sustainability in ESG, among others. Before assuming her current position, Al-Suhaimi served as the CEO of Saudi National Bank Capital.

8 Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari

• Managing Director Company: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)

Nationality: Qatari Sector: Healthcare

Al Kuwari assumed her current role in 2007. HMC is one of the main providers of secondary and tertiary healthcare in Qatar, managing 12 hospitals across Qatar, as well as the National Ambulance Service and multiple home and residential care services. Al Kuwari was also appointed Qatar’s Minister of Public Health in January 2016. She currently chairs, co-chairs, and takes part in several health, research, and advisory boards, including the Academic Health System International Advisory Board, the Hamad Healthcare Quality Institute International Advisory Board, and other committees at the Ministry of Public Health. She previously worked at the World Health Organization, Reuters, and as a freelance health reporter and writer.

9 Shaista Asif

• Co-Founder & Group COO

Company: PureHealth Group Nationality: Pakistani Sector: Healthcare

Asif has more than 22 years of experience, 16 of which she has spent in the healthcare industry. She cofounded the PureHealth Group in 2006 and assumed her current role in 2010. PureHealth is the U.A.E’s largest healthcare group, with over 25 hospitals, more than 100 clinics, and 160 labs across the country. It owns SEHA, Yas Clinic Group, Tamouh Healthcare, The Medical Office, Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center, Rafed, Daman, Pure Lab, and ONE Health. Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health collaborated with PureHealth on organ and tissue donation in November 2022.

10 Randa Sadik

• CEO Company: Arab Bank Nationality: Jordanian Sector: Banking and Financial Services

Sadik has been at the helm of the Arab Bank since February 2022. The bank has over 600 branches across five continents. The bank had assets worth $64.7 billion as of September 2022. For the first nine months of 2022, the bank recorded $405.8 million in net income, a 49% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Net operating income increased by 13%, loans increased by 4% to reach $35.6 billion, and deposits reached $47.8 billion, up by 3%. In November 2022, the Arab Bank established a Sustainable Finance Framework.

11 Maryam Al Suwaidi

• CEO

Company: The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) Nationality: Emirati Sector: Banking and Financial Services

Al Suwaidi was appointed CEO of SCA by a federal decree on October 10, 2021, becoming the first woman to occupy this position in the GCC. On September 19, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force accredited Al Suwaidi as an assessor expert in evaluating anti-money laundering and terrorism financing systems, which made her the first Emirati woman to receive this recognition. In 2021, SCA issued 13 new legislative decisions and reviewed and prepared 79 administrative decisions. In October 2022, SCA participated in GITEX Technology Week, where it presented four innovative electronic systems, including its “Tafaul” platform and “Mersal” system.

12 Dana Nasser Al Sabah

• Group CEO

Company: Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) - KIPCO

Nationality: Kuwaiti Sector: Investments

Having first joined KIPCO in 1997 as a general manager, Al Sabah assumed her current role in January 2022. In November 2022, KIPCO completed its merger with one of its portfolio companies, Qurain Petrochemical Industries, which created one of the largest public companies in the region with a market cap of $1.8 billion as of January 4, 2023. 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, as well as chairing the board of trustees for AUK and the board of directors for UEC.