MENA

The 30% Club MENA is a regional volunteer effort of multi-sector leaders working together towards better representation of women on boards and in senior level positions.  We work in collaboration to accelerate pace of change and support the growth of a healthy pipeline of talented and capable women that are ready to serve in senior positions across various sectors.

We strongly believe that business-led change is the right way forward; and as such, we support women to realize their potential through mentorship, executive education, research, and we also advocate good governance to support women to serve on boards.

The 30% Club MENA chapter was established in 2015.

Members

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    HE Sheikha Hanadi Al Thani

    Chairwoman & Founder

    Amwal

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    HRH Maha bint Mishari bin Abdulaziz AlSaud

    Director

    Al Faisal University

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    HRH Sheikha Hessa Al Sabah

    Chairwoman

    Arab Businesswomen Council

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    HRH Sheikha Hind bint Salman AlKhalifa

    Director, Bahrain

    Chamber of Commerce & Ind.

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    Sami Al Mufleh

    Founder & CEO

    Hills Group

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    Omar Fahoum

    Chairman & CEO

    Deloitte & Touche (M.E.)

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    Nabil Habayeb

    President & CEO

    GE Middle East

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    Badr Jafar

    CEO of Crescent Enterprises

    & Founder of Pearl Initative

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    Lubna Qassim

    General Counsel, Member of UAE Gender Balance Council

    Emirates NBD

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    HE Maryam Al Suwaidi

    Deputy CEO

    Securities & Commodities Authority

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    Tarek Elmasry

    Managing Director

    McKinsey Middle East

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    Abdul Aziz Al-Sowailim

    Chairman

    Ernst & Young Middle East

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    Aisha Al Kharusi

    Chief Marketing Office

    Alizz Islamic Bank, Oman

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    Lubna Al Kharusi

    Founder

    Dira Hotels

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

    Manal Al Abdwani

    Chairperson of Board of Directors

    Muscat Electricity Distribution Company S.A.O.C.

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    Wissam Moukahal

    Executive Chairman

    Macquarie Capital Middle East LLC

  • FOUNDING MEMBER 

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    Hoda Abou-Jamra

    Founding Partner

    TVM Capital Healthcare

  • MEMBER 

    Fathi Ben Grira

    CEO

    MenaCorp

  • MEMBER 

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    Mutlaq Al-Morished

    CEO

    Tasnee

  • MEMBER 

    Khaled Sifri

    CEO

    Emirates Investment Bank

  • MEMBER 

    Hussein Shobokshi

    Board Member

    Shobokshi Development & Trade

  • MEMBER 

    Fadi Ghandour

    Chairman & Managing Partner

    Wamda Capital

  • MEMBER 

    Nadim Najjar

    Managing Director

    Thomson Reuters, MEA

  • MEMBER 

    Talal Al-Zain

    CEO

    JisrCapital

  • MEMBER 

    Stefanos Thomatos

    Regional Head of Sales

    Bloomberg

  • MEMBER 

    Dr. Ashraf Gamaleldin

    CEO

    Hawkamah

  • MEMBER 

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    Taine Moufarrige

    CEO

    ServCorp. Ltd

Show all

Steering Committee

The 30% Club is run by a Steering Committee that is made up of senior men and women who volunteer their time and skills.

  • Founder  

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    Farah Foustok

    Lazard

  • Core SteerCo 

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    Sadaf Buchanan

    Member

    Dentons

  • Chair  

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    Reada Al Sarayreh

    Member

    Nissan

  • Core SteerCo 

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    William Reichert

    Member

    Charles Russell Speechlys LLP

  • Core SteerCo 

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    Emmanuel Laurina

    Member

    State Street Global Advisors

  • Core SteerCo 

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    Isabel Tapp

    Member

    ALLDETA/LS

  • Core SteerCo 

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    Hisham Farouk

    Member

    Grant Thornton

  • Core SteerCo 

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    Laudy Lahdo

    Member

Working groups

  • Women on Boards

    Main aims

    This group aims to support increased women representation both at the board level and in C-level positions within the corporate sector across teh MENA region by brdgign teh demand adn supply through parterneships and networking oportunities.

    contact

    Please contact: laudy.lahdo@30percentclubmena.com

    Group leader

    Laudy Lahdo

  • MENTORING

    Main aims

    Mentoring is a proven way of helping both men and women to develop, where ever they are in an organization and it is important for those aspiring to senior positions. This group has worked with Reach, a not-for-profit organization based in the Dubai International Finance Centre, dedicated to helping young professionals unlock their potential through structured mentoring. The 30% Club GCC and Reach are collaborating to provide a dedicated segment of support to those who aspire to become board members.  Mentors and mentees come from the 30% Club member firms

    contact

    Please contact: sadaf.buchanan@dentons.com

    Group leader

    Sadaf Buchanan

  • MEDIA & EVENTS

    Main aims

    This group produces a quarterly newsletter and maintains a calendar of events taking place across the region. Through our Chairs and Steering Group Members they help get the 30% Club message out. They also organize the 30% Club annual event and control our branding and messaging. 

    contact

    ​Please contact: isabeltapp@alldetails.net

    Group leader

    Isabel Tapp

Events

Previous

  • Dubai and NYC

    The 30% Club MENA and theBoardlist Announce an Exclusive Partnership

    August 2020: The 30% Club MENA and the US-based organization, theBoardlist, have signed a one-year exclusive agreement to support much more collaborative and sustainable efforts to help connect boards with women candidates across the Middle East and North Africa region.

    TheBoardlist is an online platform that connects exceptional women with global board opportunities. Founded in 2015 in the US, theBoardlist now has over 14,000 users, and more than 1500 companies have searched the platform to find their next board director. They are a thought leader on the subject of board diversity as well as a source of information and education for aspiring board directors.

    For more information on how to participate, please reach out to Laudy Lahdo at laudy.lahdo@30percentclubmena.com

  • Dubai

    June 2020: As part of its commitment to increase gender diversity at board and senior management levels. The 30% Club MENA launched a cohort of senior industry professionals to formally mentor a number of professional women from across MENA who are all making great strides within their respective industries and who represent a future pipeline of potential board members. The 30% Club has collaborated with Reach and a number of other partners in launching this inaugural cohort.

  • Cairo

    March 2020: The Women on  Boards Observatory, a member of the 30% Club MENA, launched its annual monitoring report in March 2020 with the aim of improving  gender balance of corporate boards in Egypt and the MENA region by sensitizing male board members to gender issues, qualifying women from different sectors to be appointed to corporate boards, and advocating for policy and legislative changes that institutionalize gender diversity on corporate board. The 30% Club MENA and the Women on Boards Observatory are working together to replicate the success model led by AUC Executive School of Business across MENA region.

  • Four Seasons Hotel - DIFC

    Leading change - The future of Women in Finance event, supported by the 30% Club MENA, is taking place on 1st March 2018 at the Four Seasons Hotel DIFC. 

    We invite you to attend the event where you will hear from leading industry professionals on how the region is currently positioned in relation to women in finance along with gaining further insights on the future of women in finance in the Middle East and the imperative role that you can play to continue leading this change. 

    Speakers include ( 30% Club MENA Chair and Steerco Members):

    •  - Cynthia Corby, ACCA Member and Partner at Deloitte Middle East
    •  - Dr. Ashraf Gamaleldin, CEO of Hawkamah
       

    Register Now to book your place at this event.

    Please RSVP to: eventme@accaglobal.com

  • Dubai

    30% Club MENA in collaboration with the Edinburgh Business School, will host an event featuring renowned speaker and academic, Professor Heather McGregor CBE; Executive Dean of Edinburgh Business School, co-founder of the 30% Club, author and broadcaster, and wrote under the pseudonym Mrs Moneypenny in the Financial Times for seventeen years.

    A champion of diversity in the workplace, Professor McGregor inspires women to set personal goals, take the next step to control their own fate, and change the future.  

  • Dubai

    30% Club MENA  & Bloomberg invite you to join a conversation on business leaders driving change.

    Sunday, September 25th, 2016. 
    9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

    Bloomberg Dubai Office, DIFC, Al Fattan Currency House Level 10.

    (Limited Spaces Available)

  • Four Seasons Hotel, Jumeirah Beach Dubai

    The MENA Chapter of The 30% Club Powers Arabian Business Forum on gender diversity


    Dubai, UAE- 24 May 2016: Business leaders across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries today took part in The 13th Arabian Business Forum, in association with the 30% Club MENA Chapter, a global business-led initiative committed to achieving better gender representation in senior leadership positions of organisations.

    Lubna Qassim, Executive Vice President, Group Company Secretary and group General Counsel of Emirates NBD and Founding Chair of the MENA Chapter of the 30% Club, opened the conference with a keynote speech on diversity and the 30% Club MENA Chapter.

    Ghassan Turqieh, Consulting Partner and human capital leader at Deloitte in the Middle East delivered a presentation entitled: ‘View from the top: What business executives really think about women leaders in the GCC’ in which he discussed the key findings of a GCC study conducted by Deloitte in collaboration with the 30% Club MENA.

    “We are honoured to be associated with this important event,” said Raeda AlSarayreh, Director of Corporate Affairs at CH2M MENAI and Steering Committee member of the 30% Club MENA. “We are continuously working together to support the efforts of GCC governments and companies to increase women’s participation in the workforce in the belief that gender balance on boards further contributes to improved board performance.”

    Other eminent speakers from the 30% Club MENA included Hoda Abou Jamra, Founding Partner, TVM Capital Healthcare Partners and Catherine Beckett, Partner, Dentons, among other to discuss an array of topics including  how to encourage greater female entrepreneurship in the Gulf.

    To learn more about the 30% Club GCC and how your firm can support this initiative, please contact: info@30percentclubGCC.org

    View from the Top - A GCC study conducted by Deloitte in association with the 30% Club MENA Chapter, was released at the Arabian Business Women's Forum on 24th May 2016. Please download the report here.

Contact

Farah Foustok: farah.foustok@lazard.com
Reada Al Sarayreh: raedasaraireh@30PercentClubMENA.com