Tag: Elham Mahfouz

KUWAITI businesswomen shine in Forbes Middle East’s 2025 Power List

Kuwaiti businesswomen have once again earned recognition on Forbes Middle East’s prestigious list of the 100 most powerful female business leaders in the Middle East for 2025.

Forbes Middle East emphasized the significant and ongoing impact these women have across diverse sectors. Their leadership within prominent local and international companies demonstrates their influence in the region’s business landscape.

Shaikha Khaled Al Bahar

  • Company: National Bank of Kuwait Group (NBK Group)
  • Title: Deputy Group CEO
  • Sector: Banking & Financial Services

Ranking 2nd on the list is Shaikha Khaled Al Bahar who assumed her current role in 2014, where she leads the NBK Group in 13 countries. In the first nine months of 2024, the group reported profits of $1.6 billion and had $128.5 billion in assets. In November 2024, it launched the second edition of NBK RISE, to help empower women in leadership. Al Bahar’s board memberships include the board of trustees of the Al-Ojeiri Scientific Center and the Egyptian Kuwaiti Cooperation Council. She is also the vice chairperson of the Turkish Bank in Türkiye.

Wadha Ahmad Al-Khateeb

  • Company: Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC)
  • Title: CEO
  • Sector: Oil & Gas

Ranking 4th on the list is Wadha Ahmad Al-Khateeb who joined KNPC in 1994 and assumed her role as CEO in 2022. KNPC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, owns subsidiaries like the Kuwait Aviation Fueling Company and the Kuwait Aromatics Company. It recorded $41.2 billion in revenues for the fiscal year 2023/24 ending March 2024. Wadha Al-Khateeb is also the acting CEO of the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company, and vice chairperson of the Gulf Downstream Association. Before her current position, she was the deputy CEO of Mina Abdullah Refinery.

Dana Nasser Al Sabah

  • Company: Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) – KIPCO
  • Title: Group CEO
  • Sector: Diversified

Ranking 5th on the list is Dana Nasser Al Sabah who joined KIPCO in 2004 and has been a board member since 2020. She was appointed group CEO in January 2022. The company generated profits of $205.7 million in the first nine months of 2024 and had $41.6 billion in assets. In April 2024, KIPCO’s subsidiary, the OSN Group, closed a deal to combine OSN+, OSN’s content streaming platform, with Anghami, after acquiring 55.45% of Anghami. Dana Al Sabah is also the founder and chair of the board of trustees of the American University of Kuwait, and the chairperson of the United Education Company, Jordan Kuwait Bank, and the OSN Group.

Nadia Bader Al-Hajji

  • Company: Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC)
  • Title: CEO
  • Sector: Petrochemicals

Ranking 17th on the list is Nadia Bader Al-Hajji who joined PIC, a subsidiary of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, in 2019 and assumed her current role in 2022. PIC recorded a net profit of $127 million in the financial year ending March 2024. Al-Hajji is also the chairman of the EQUATE Group and the Kuwait Olefins Company. She is a board member at the Canada Kuwait Petrochemicals Company, and a board member and treasurer at the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association. She is also head of the Diversity and Inclusion Council at the Kuwait Petroleum Company and its subsidiaries, among other roles.

Henadi Al-Saleh

  • Company: Agility
  • Title: Chairperson
  • Sector: Logistics

Ranking 22nd on the list is Henadi Al-Saleh who joined Agility in 2007 to lead investor relations, financial planning, and analysis. She was appointed to her current role in 2014. Agility employs over 65,000 people, with a footprint across six continents. In the first nine months of 2024, it generated $3.7 billion in revenues and had $13.3 billion in assets. In January 2024, its subsidiary Menzies Aviation acquired a 50% stake in Jardine Aviation Services Group in Hong Kong. In May 2024, Agility Global was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Al-Saleh is also a board member at GWC and part of the Global Board of Advisors of the U.S.-based Council on Foreign Relations.

Elham Mahfouz

  • Company: Commercial Bank of Kuwait (Al-Tijari)
  • Designation: CEO
  • Nationality: Egyptian
  • Sector: Banking & Financial Services

Ranking 54th on the list is Elham Mahfouz who assumed her current role in 2014. In February 2024, Al-Tijari announced a partnership with Network International to aid its ongoing digital transformation, including fraud detection and prevention, tokenization, and cardholder self-serve application. In the first nine months of 2024, the bank had $15.2 billion in assets and recorded net profits of $290.6 million. Mahfouz has held multiple senior executive positions at Al-Tijari since joining the bank in 2000, including general manager in its New York branch.

Donna Sultan

  • Company: KEO International Consultants
  • Designation: President & CEO
  • Sector: Architecture

Ranking 58th on the list is Donna Sultan who has been at KEO since 1985, becoming CEO in 1991, then eventually president and CEO in 2016. The company launched OPTIMA, a facility management consultancy, in October 2024, and inaugurated its Jordan office in September 2024. In June 2024, the Kuwait Center for Nephrology and Kidney Transplant, which KEO International Consultants designed, became operational.

source/content: arabtimes.com (headline edited)

____________

____________

KUWAIT

EGYPT : 13 Egyptian women on Forbes Middle East 100 Most Powerful businesswomen 2023

Thirteen Egyptian businesswomen made it to the Forbes Middle East 100 Most powerful businesswomen 2023 list this year.

The list was prepared by the famous financial magazine’s Middle East edition according to the size of the business, the individual’s impact and achievements, performance over the last year, and the scope of CSR and other initiatives led by the person.

The 100-entry list included 104 women from 27 different sectors and 27 nationalities.

The UAE and Egypt scored the most entries at 15 and 12, respectively, followed by Saudi Arabia (11) , Kuwait (eight), and six from each of Lebanon, Qatar and Oman.

Egyptian businesswomen are no strangers to the list, having topped the list in previous years in terms of the number of entries.

In 2021, Egyptian businesswomen topped the list with eight entries, and in 2022 they had seven entries. 

Below Ahram Online sheds light on the Egyptian businesswomen who made it to the list:

  • Dalia El-Baz (13th on the list)

An American University in Cairo alumna, El-Baz is the executive deputy chairman of the National Bank of Egypt (NBE).

El-Baz, who has been on the list before, posseses 28 years of experience in the banking sector.

She joined Egypt’s largest bank in terms of assets in 2008 as head of the operational risk management group, becoming Chief Operating officer (COO) in December 2015.

In 2016, she was appointed on the bank’s executive committee.

In September 2017, she became the first woman to become the executive deputy chairman of the NBE.

  • Pakinam Kafafi (21st on the list)

A Cairo University graduate, Pakinam Kafafi started her career in finance and banking at EFG-Hermes in the mid-1990s, rising to the position of vice president in 2000.

She then moved to the oil and energy sector.

In 2003, Kafafi was appoointed the strategy and investment general manager of Gas & Energy Group (GENCO).

When Citadel Group acquired GENCO and merged it with TAQA Arabia, Kafafi maintained her role.

In April 2013, Pakinam Kafafi was selected as the company’s CEO.

  • Rawya Mansour (27th on the list)

A Cairo university graduate, Rawya Mansour proved herself one of Egypt’s leading businesswomen.

Mansour is a descendant from one of Egypt’s oldest families in the field of business.

In 1999, she founded RAMSCO for Refined Architecture and Interior Design.

In 2007, she started RAMSCO for Trade and Distribution.

She also established the Organic Agriculture for Social International Solidarity (OASIS) in Monaco in 2012.

  • Reem Asaad (39th on the list)

An Egyptian American, Reem Asaad is a Harvard business school graduate who continued her career in Egypt when she served as the CEO of Raya Data Center from January 2012 till December 2016.

From January 2017 to February 2020, Asaad served as Raya Contact Center CEO befor

In 2020, she was appointed Cisco Middle East and Africa Vice President.

Cisco employs 3,000 people and contractors in 74 countries across the Middle East and Africa. 

In March 2021, she was appointed by Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology to serve on the board of directors for the country’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency.

  • Hend El-Sherbini (42nd on the list)

A graduate of Cairo University, Dr Hend El-Sherbini is a professor of clinical pathology at the University’s Faculty of Medicine.

El-Sherbini served as the CEO of Al-Mokhtabar between 2004 and 2012.

She has been seving as IDH Group’s CEO since 2012.

IDH has a network of 546 branch labs as of September 2022 in Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan and Pakistan.

The group recorded revenues of $281 million in 2021 and $143 million in the first nine months of 2022.

In August 2022, El-Sherbini increased her holdings in the group with 7.3 million additional shares through Hena Holdings.

Now, she owns 26.71 percent of the group.

  • Farida and Yasmine Khamis (43rd on the list)

The daughters of the famous Egyptian carpets tycoon, Farida and Yasmine Khamis are considered veterans of the Forbes list.

American University of Cairo alumni, Yasmine Khamis is currently the Chairwoman of Oriental Weavers Group, while her sister Farida is her vice-chair.

Both sisters made headlines last December when they transferred their combined 24.61percent stake in Oriental Weavers Carpet to London-based FYK limited, which is fully owned by them.

They are also board members of the British University in Cairo .

  • Mona Zulficar (48th on the list)

The famous renowned lawyer and human rights activist is the Forbes Middle East 100 women list veteran who has appeared constantly on the list since it started.

A Cairo University graduate, Zulficar is a veteran corporate, banking, and project finance attorney and human rights activist.

She cofounded Zulficar & Partners in 2009. Mona Zulficar chaired EFG Hermes Holding since 2008 and the Egyptian Microfinance Federation since 2015.

Mona Zulficar is currently a member of Egypt’s National Council of Human Rights.

  • Elham Mahfouz (56th on the list)

An AUC alumna, Elham Mahfouz has over 30 years of banking experience mostly in Kuwait.

Mahfouz has been the CEO of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait (Al-Tijari) since 2014.  

Al-Tijari recorded $179 million in net profit and $14.1 billion worth of total assets in 2021. 

Mahfouz is a member of the supervisory board of the American University of Kuwait.

  • Hilda Louca (62nd on the list)

A graduate of the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, Transport and Maritime Transport, Hilda Louca is a newcomer to the list.

Louca started her career in Lufthansa’s customer service before moving to become a sales marking manager at Al-Ahram Beverage Company-Heineken Egypt for three years.

In 2018, she founded MITCHA – platform to support Egyptian designers.

Today, the platform features 200 designers and brands. 

  • Omnia Kelig (84th on the list)

An AUC alumna, Omnia Kelig is a banking and cooperate financing veteran who started her career in the CIB in 1999.

Kelig is currently Deputy CEO, Chairwoman and Managing Director of NAEEM Holding, a dual-listed company on the Egyptian Stock Exchange and the Dubai Financial Market.

In the first nine months of 2022, NAEEM reported $8.2 million in total revenues and $273 million in assets.

Before joining NAEEM, Kelig was a founder and managing director of Viveris Mashrek, a subsidiary of France’s Viveris Management.

She was also a partner and director for Haykala Investment Management and a co-head of investment banking at Barclays Bank in Egypt.

  • Abir Leheta (87th on the list)

An AUC alumna, Abir Leheta is another veteran on the Forbes list.

Leheta joined the Egyptian Transport and Commercial Services Company “EgyTrans” in 1997.

She has been EgyTrans CEO since 2017.

She is also the chairman of Barwil Egytrans and ScanArabia.

  • Abeer Helmy Saleh ( 99th on the list)

An AUC alumna, Abeer Helmy Saleh previously held a number of managerial positions, including managing director and board member at Wafa Life Insurance Company and managing director of Bupa Egypt Insurance.

In March 2022, Saleh was appointed as a Board Member & Managing Director of Misr Life Insurance, Takaful, which was established as a joint venture between Misr Insurance Holding Company, the National Bank of Egypt, and Banque Misr, with a capital of over $5 million. 

source/content: english.ahram.org.eg (headline edited)

____________

__________

EGYPT