Page 74 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

58 Dubai & Co.

Sheikha Lubna began her career as a programmer at a software
company in the emirates, being the only local and only woman on
the team. Her progress was swift—five jobs and six years later, she
joined Dubai Ports World, where as a senior executive she drove the
IT strategy needed to expand the enterprise to its central role in
global port management. Prior to her appointment as minister of
economy, Sheikha Lubna also led Dubai’s e-government initiative
and served as CEO of Tejari.com, an award-winning business-to-
business e-commerce portal in the UAE.
In addition to her corporate and government work, she serves
on the board of a number of educational institutions, as well as the
Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Her achievements
have received recognition the world over, including mention in
Forbes magazine and her receipt of the 2004 Entrepreneurship
Award from the British House of Lords. Sheikha Lubna is widely
admired as a role model by GCC women. Having met Sheikha
Lubna personally in 2006, as the UAE Ministry of Economy was
undergoing significant change, I can attest to her drive, profession-
alism, and commitment to results. Look for her to go far.

Expanding Female Power

Another role model in the corporate sector is Maha Al-Ghunaim,
who is founder, vice chairman, and managing director of the
Kuwait-based Global Investment House. Al-Ghunaim established
the firm in 1998, and she had grown its assets under her manage-
ment to over $6 billion by 2005. In 2006, she was ranked number 91
by Forbes magazine in its ranking of the world’s most powerful
women. 22
While certainly there is much progress to be made in terms of
female leadership in the GCC, and social freedoms for women are
particularly constricted in Saudi Arabia, some degree of precedent
has been set, and the trend is toward more women in positions of
authority. Women in the GCC cannot be ignored: as consumers, as
potential employees, and—increasingly—as leaders in business
and society.
Misconception 5: The markets are entirely Arab—the Arab
consumer is the only target market in the Gulf.
Reality: The expatriate market within the GCC is crucial.