The US Department of State's Office of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs organized the first Women Business Leaders Summit in an initiative to create bridges between successful women leaders across the world. Sara Kilani provides the details of the summit and discusses its merits with Jordanian delegate Jumana Twal, CEO of Bidaya Corporate Communications.
The summit gathered women leaders from Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United States, and came as part of a follow-up convention to the February summit held in Amman. The objectives and goals of the summit were to promote business opportunities and partnerships between the US and participating countries; to encourage the role of women as full and equal partners in the economic and social development in the Middle East; and to foster business development by presenting best practices and sharing strategies for success. Participants from Jordan included four distinguished business leaders: Jumana Twal of Bidaya Corporate Communications; Dima Bibi of Injaz; Doha Abdel Khaleq of Eskadenia Software Solutions; and Elham Ziadat of Bloom Dead Sea Gift Enterprise. The Jordanian portion of the program included a lunch with Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah at the Al Hussein Club, where she chatted with each of the participants; a reception at the home of US Ambassador David Hale; and a dinner at the home of Lama and Karim Kawar, the former Jordanian Ambassador to the US. The US program, held in Washington, DC, included discussion panels; visits to American partner companies; special program sessions at Georgetown University; and a meeting with Her Majesty Queen Rania, members of Congress, and senior government officials including First Lady Laura Bush.
The four Jordanian delegates were nominated to participate based on their experience and reputation in the business field. One delegate, Ms. Jumana The summit gathered women leaders from Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United States, and came as part of a follow-up convention to the February summit held in Amman. The objectives and goals of the summit were to promote business opportunities and partnerships between the US and participating countries; to encourage the role of women as full and equal partners in the economic and social development in the Middle East; and to foster business development by presenting best practices and sharing strategies for success. Participants from Jordan included four distinguished business leaders: Jumana Twal of Bidaya Corporate Communications; Dima Bibi of Injaz; Doha Abdel Khaleq of Eskadenia Software Solutions; and Elham Ziadat of Bloom Dead Sea Gift Enterprise. The Jordanian portion of the program included a lunch with Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah at the Al Hussein Club, where she chatted with each of the participants; a reception at the home of US Ambassador David Hale; and a dinner at the home of Lama and Karim Kawar, the former Jordanian Ambassador to the US. The US program, held in Washington, DC, included discussion panels; visits to American partner companies; special program sessions at Georgetown University; and a meeting with Her Majesty Queen Rania, members of Congress, and senior government officials including First Lady Laura Bush.
The four Jordanian delegates were nominated to participate based on their experience and reputation in the business field. One delegate, Ms. Jumana Twal, founder and CEO of Bidaya Corporate Communications, a public relations firm, established in 2004. Bidaya specializes in media and event services and is the first full Jordanian member of the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA). Its prestigious client list includes the Association of the Queen Rania Al-Abdallah Award for Excellence in Education , Jordan Dubai Capital, Capital Bank, Jordan Dubai Energy and ATV.
Along with the other participants in the summit, Ms. Twal was chosen for her outstanding achievements in the business world. Before joining Bidaya, she held the position of director of corporate communications at Fastlink, Jordan's biggest mobile operator. Throughout her career, she has been known as a catalyst for change, effectively managing a large number of employees, implementing training courses, negotiating major contract terms, and establishing internal policies, procedures, and departments. Her experience and negotiating expertise certainly served her well during her time in the US, as she was the only one of the 100 women attending the US program who managed to sign a partnership with the US firm and businesswoman she was assigned to shadow. The firm is the New York-based Brandman Agency, one of the most sought-after PR companies for boutique luxury hotels, upscale international hotel groups, private island resorts, special events, and exclusive beauty and home products, which are seeking a powerful presence in the North American market. This means that in addition to having a presence in the GCC and the Levant, Bidaya now also has international offices in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe.
One component of the Women's Business Summit paired each Arab woman with a US counterpart that has similar business interests. Ms. Twal shadowed Melanie Brandman, the PR executive of the Brandman Agency in New York for three days before the start of the summit. Although she claims that at first she felt hesitant about being involved at a managerial level in a huge agency in New York , sharing Brandman's role and meeting her clients, she discovered that "we are as capable as they are and more they can testify to that! They offered me a partnership agreement, which I signed. This alone tells you how impressed they were with our strategic thinking, image, and work ethic. As Arabs we go out of our way to impress the client and prove ourselves." The Brandman Agency was particularly impressed to find that Bidaya works in four languages, whereas they only operate in English.
JB: It must have been interesting meeting businesswomen from other Arab countries. Are their experiences similar to yours?
It was very interesting indeed, and a source of pride as well. Each one of us had a success story to tell, each had their share of obstacles and difficulties to overcome, and their stories of success to celebrate. The Saudi Arabian representative, for example, talked about societal stereotypes that required her to fight on her way to success, but she hasn't let anything stand in her way. She is still out there and still achieving. There were also very bold stories narrated by Palestinian and Lebanese businesswomen about the circumstances in their countries and the fact that they have gotten far despite living in war zones. They are an inspiration to all of us; our experiences almost look insignificant next to their everyday struggles. For example, there was a Lebanese woman who had spent two years doing feasibility studies before setting up a printing press. Overnight the country was bombed and they had to immediately relocate production to Dubai without doing any feasibility studies or any preparation.
JB: What was it like shadowing your US counterpart? Did you find that they do business differently?
It was such an amazing experience. I felt I was suddenly in a parallel world where Bidaya's team was just the same except that it was an English speaking version! I was astonished to find that there are many similarities between me and Melanie Brandman, the founder and president of The Brandman Agency, with whom I was wisely matched. Of course, it was extremely enriching on a human level, but on a professional level this matching has also resulted in a strategic partnership so that Bidaya and The Brandman Agency are now sister companies. However, there are some differences. In New York, clients are grateful for even a meeting with a top PR agency, whereas in Jordan they have yet to grasp the importance of a PR agency and how much it can help their business. Some companies here think PR is about arranging pretty centerpieces for a corporate event! In New York, of course, they really value what a PR company can do for them.
JB: What about the cultural exchange, who got more out of that? US culture is fairly accessible to Jordanians, but what did the American participants think when they came to Jordan?
Of course the US participants had more of an eye-opening experience than we did! I think they were surprised to find that our country is peaceful, relatively liberal and economically on the right track.
© Jordan Business 2007
