Eight Kuwaitis Make it to Forbes Middle East's Top Businesswomen List

Eight Kuwaiti businesswomen were chosen in Forbes Middle East's annual list of the region’s most powerful businesswomen for 2023, including National Bank of Kuwait’s (NBK), Sheikha Khaled Al Bahar who ranked first in the country and fourth regionally.

Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO of the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), climbed two spots to land first place this year. Raja Easa Al Gurg, Chairperson and Managing Director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, and Lubna S. Olayan, Chair of the Saudi British Bank and Chair of the Executive Committee and Deputy Chair of Olayan Financing Company, rounded up the top three spots on the Forbes list. 

The 2023 Forbes Middle East's list of the region’s most powerful businesswomen had representation for 27 nationalities. Kuwait was the 4th most represented country on the list with 8 listees, after UAE (15), Egypt (12), and Saudi Arabia (11).

The eight Kuwaiti businesswomen who made the 2023 Forbes Middle East list are:

Shaikha Khaled Al Bahar

Ranking: 4th

Al Bahar is the Deputy Group CEO of National Bank of Kuwait Group (NBK). She has been Deputy Group CEO of NBK since March 2014 and is Chairperson of NBK Egypt and NBK France. In 2022, Al Bahar was honored with an award for her Distinguished Services to Arab Banking from the Arab Bankers Association.

Wadha Ahmed Al-Khateeb

Ranking: 6th

Al-Khateeb is the CEO of Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC). She became CEO of KNPC in 2022 and has 28 years of experience in the oil sector. Among her many achievements, Al-Khateeb registered the Flare Gas Recovery Unit—the first Kuwaiti project to be listed in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Dana Nasser Al Sabah

Ranking: 12th

Al Sabah is Group CEO of Kuwait Projects Company (Holding) - KIPCO. She assumed the role of Group CEO in January 2022 and since then has merged KIPCO with Qurain Petrochemical Industries, which has created one of the largest public companies in the region with a market cap of $1.8 billion in 2023. 

Henadi Al-Saleh 

Ranking: 20th 

Al-Saleh is the Chairperson of the logistics company Agility. She took on this role in 2014 and in 2021, under Al-Saleh's management, Agility recorded revenues of $1.6 billion. In 2022, the company received the U.K.-based John Menzies PLC for around $930 million in enterprise value because of Al-Saleh's leadership. 

Eaman Al Roudhan

Ranking: 22nd

Al Roudhan is CEO of Zain Kuwait. Under her management, Zain made $1 billion in revenues in 2021 and $844 million during the first nine months of 2022 and its customers reached 2.6 million in the same year. 

Jehad Al-Humaidhi 

Ranking: 34th

Al-Humaidhi is CEO of Ahli United Bank of Kuwait. She has been CEO of the bank since September 2021 and has 38 years of experience in banking. Al-Humadhi also serves as a board member and vice chairman of K-NET, Ci Net, Al Hilal Takaful Insurance, and Al Hilal Life.

Nadia Bader Al-Hajji

Ranking: 35th 

Al-Hajji is the CEO of Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC). She became CEO of PIC in November 2022 and has around 30 years of experience in her field. In 2021, Al-Hajji was part of the PIC team that acquired a 49% stake in a key petrochemical company in South Korea with a successful launch of the new joint venture company.

Nadia Akil

Ranking: 88th

Nadia Akil is the CEO and Vice Chairman of United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC). She has been in this role since 2012 and under her leadership, the company gained $24 million in revenues in the first nine months of 2022.

Click here to view the full list of the Middle East’s 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2023.