Five Saudi women in top roles

Saudi Arabia has seen three key female executive appointments in the financial sector over the past week. Under its Vision 2030 economic diversification plan, the kingdom plans to raise the share of women in the workforce from 22 percent to 30 percent. Argaam takes a look at five women in top positions at prominent Saudi companies.

1. Sarah Al-Suhaimi, chairperson, Tadawul

Sarah Al-Suhaimi was elected chairperson of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) last Thursday. Al-Suhaimi, who is the CEO of NCB Capital, is the first woman to assume this position since Tadawul’s establishment in 2007. A Harvard University alumnus, Al-Suhaimi was chief investment officer at Jadwa Investment and a senior portfolio manager at Samba Financial Group, before joining NCB Capital.

2. Rania Mahmoud Nashar, CEO, Samba Financial Group

Rania Mahmoud Nashar was named chief executive of Samba Financial Group on Sunday. Nashar has 20 years of experience in the banking sector, and has served in several executive positions within Samba. She is also a board member for Samba Bank Limited in Pakistan and Samba Global Markets Limited Company.

3. Latifah Al-Sabhan, CFO, Arab National Bank

Arab National Bank has named Latifah Al-Sabhan as chief financial officer, Al-Arabiya TV reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources. The bank appointed Al-Sabhan a few days ago, but has not yet announced it, the news channel said.

4. Huda Al-Ghoson, executive director of HR, Saudi Aramco

Huda Al-Ghoson serves as executive director of human resources at state-run Saudi Aramco. Al-Ghoson was the first woman to be named a permanent executive director in the oil giant’s history. She oversees a workforce of over 66,000 employees, according to Bloomberg data. In a recent interview with Argaam, she said Aramco has increased its recruitment of women by 20 percent over the past few years, with female employees currently accounting for 8 percent of the workforce.

5. Lubna Olayan, CEO, Olayan Financing

Lubna Olayan is the CEO of Olayan Financing Co., which holds and manages all of Saudi conglomerate Olayan Group's businesses and investments in the kingdom and the Middle East. Last April, she was named as a non-executive board director of Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden). She also serves as a board member of several other companies such as Saudi Hollandi Bank, Rolls Royce Group, and Schlumberger. Olayan holds an MBA from Indiana University and a B.Sc. in Agriculture from Cornell University.

Write to Jerusha Sequeira at jerusha.s@argaamnews.com