Salma Hareb tops 2008 Forbes Arabia list

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Chief executive of Dubai’s Economic Zones World and Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority Salma Hareb has been named the Arab World’s leading female executive.

She tops the 2008 Forbes Arabia list of the 50 most powerful Arab businesswomen. Hareb became the first woman in the Middle East and North Africa to head a free zone in September 2005 when she became the boss of Jafza.

In 2007, with the creation of Economic Zones World (EZW), her responsibilities expanded to include Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority’s (Jafza) global operations. She also oversees Techno Park and Dubai Auto Zone and is a member of the boards of the Dubai Export Development Corporation and Forsa, a group that encourages female entrepreneurs.

The Forbes Arabia list, which appears in the magazine’s May edition, is dominated by executives who run but do not own businesses, with six of the top 10 working in the banking and investment sectors.

Hareb is followed by Kuwait’s Maha Al Ghunaim, who chairs Global Investment House, and Saudi Arabia’s Lubna Olayan, CEO and General Manager of Olayan Financing Company, who topped the 2006 list.

At number four is Saudi Arabia’s Nahed Taher, founder and CEO of Gulf One Investment Bank, and at number five is Kuwait’s Sheikha Khaled Al Bahar, Vice-CEO of the National Bank of Kuwait. At number six is Egypt’s Sahar el Sallab, Vice-Chair of Commercial International Bank.

The seventh and eighth positions are taken by UAE’s Fatima Al Jaber, COO of Al Jaber Group, and Raja Easa Saleh Al Gurg, Managing Director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group. The ninth and 10th places are taken by Kuwait’s Sana Jumah, CEO of Kuwait Finance and Investment Company, and Suad Al Homaizi, founder and Chair of Suad Al Homaizi Group.

The list includes 21 newcomers, too. But Refaat Jaafar – Managing Editor of Forbes Arabia, the Arabic edition of US-based Forbes, said: “This large number does not mean that the size of the outgoing women’s businesses has been reduced.
 
Rather it reflects the striking presence of newcomers who have shown perseverance in their societies that support women’s right in education and their active participation in society.”

The list sees a continuing predominance of family businesswomen who run companies founded or owned by their parents at the expense of self-made businesswomen.

Trade is the most common business activity in the list (17 women), followed by manufacturing (eight) and finance and banking services (seven). The Gulf continues to dominate with 29 women from the region in the list – many in leading positions – compared with 26 in 2006. 

In terms of countries, Saudi has the most businesswomen on the list – nine – followed by the UAE with eight. The North Africa region struggled to secure a few places in the lower ranks. Jaafar said the Gulf’s dominance was a result of the economic boom that Saudi,  Kuwait and the UAE had experienced in the past few years.

“Such a boom paves the way for everyone – whether a man or woman – to excel in the world of business.”

This year’s list sees for the first time the appearance of women aged below 30 – Egyptian Farida Mohammed Farid Khamis, 28, Vice-Chair of Oriental Weavers Carpet; the UAE’s Amna bin Hendi, 27, CEO of Bin Hendi Enterprises; and 28-year-old Amina Dasmal, Chair of Alcove Entertainment of the UAE. The number of over-40s remains unchanged compared with the previous list.