- Ongoing Commitment to Middle East and Female Entrepreneurs
Dubai - Coutts today announces the appointments of Hind Bahwan, Raja Easa Al Gurg and Lama Al Sulaiman to its Middle East Advisory Board.
Coutts' Middle East Advisory Board was created in October 2013 to help broaden and shape the firm's ambitious plans, aiding hiring and improving performance by strengthening client relationships. The Board continues to meet twice a year to provide counsel to Management in the region.
Michael Dismorr, Chairman for Coutts Middle East Advisory Board said: "We are thrilled to welcome Hind, Raja and Lama to our Advisory Board, and are confident their collective knowledge and leadership will be of great value to us. Increasingly Middle Eastern women are taking leading business and entrepreneurial roles and we are very pleased to add three of the most distinguished Middle Eastern business women to our Advisory Board."
Coutts supports various diversity initiatives including recently hosting the highly acknowledged and respected Arab International Women's Forum (AIWF) for 70 members and AIWF's global partners at Coutts Headquarters at 440 Strand in London.
To date, Board members have attended two successful meetings. Members reviewed topics of key significance to Coutts, including financial results and strategy. Through providing invaluable recommendations and advice, the members are aiding Coutts' business development in the Middle East, one of Coutts key growth markets.
Hind Bahwan is the Founder and Chairperson of Bahwan CyberTek Group which is focused on IT, logistics and engineering projects. She is also Director of Suhail Bahwan Group, one of Oman's premier family groups with a turnover exceeding US$ 4 billion and diversified interests in manufacturing, construction, trading and real estate. She is involved in and has served on the Boards of a variety of public and private organisations. She is a Member of the Middle Centre Advisory Board of the London School of Economics and a Board member of the Family Business Network for GCC.
Raja Easa Al Gurg is the Managing Director of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, she actively supports and encourages Arab women entrepreneurs, hosting the first MENA Businesswomen's Network Forum in her capacity as the President of the Dubai Business Women Council. She is the President of Dubai Business Women Council, Deputy Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Dubai Healthcare City Authority; Board member of the Dubai Chamber Of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), Dubai Women's Association and HSBC UAE.
Lama Al Sulaiman is Vice Chairwoman and Board Member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She was the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be elected as a Board member in the Chamber of Commerce in 2005 and was later re-elected deputy Chairwoman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry in December 2009, becoming the first female to hold such a post in Saudi history. She is the Head of the Saudi delegation in ILO. She is also a Board member and business developer at Rolaco Holdings, and a Board member of Foras Investment in Saudi Arabia as well as Club Med in France.
Coutts has been present in the Middle East for many years and opened its first representative office, regulated by the Central Bank, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai 14 years ago. In addition, The firm has regional offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre (regulated by the DFSA), Abu Dhabi through a representative office, and in the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha (regulated by the QFCRA) and, in 2011, announced its intention to grow the business in core international markets, including the Middle East.
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About Coutts
Coutts is the wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Coutts serves clients from over 40 offices across the world offering tailored wealth management, banking, trust and tax services. Coutts is headquartered at 440 Strand, London with offices in other key international financial centres in Zurich, Geneva, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. The division includes Adam & Company providing private banking services from its base in Edinburgh and RBS International based in the Channel Islands which provides offshore banking.
The new members of the Advisory Board:
Hind Bahwan
Hind Bahwan is the Founder and Chairperson of Bahwan CyberTek Group which is focused on IT, logistics and engineering projects. She is also Director of Suhail Bahwan Group, one of Oman's premier family groups with a turnover exceeding US$4 billion and diversified interests in manufacturing, construction, trading and real estates.
Ms Bahwan is involved in and has served on the Boards of a variety of public and private organisations. She is a Member of the Middle Centre Advisory Board of the London School of Economics and a Board member of the Family Business Network for GCC.
Previously, she has served as a Member on the Middle East Advisory Board of the Deutsche Bank and on the board of Oman's Public Authority for Social Insurance. She also previously chaired the Oman Chapter of Young President's Organization (YPO).
Ms Bahwan is a recipient of many awards including Ernst & Young's 'Oman's Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2000', Arabian Business 'e-Achiever of the Year' award from H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rasheed in 2001, 'IT Women of the Year 2002' award by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 'Global Leaders for Tomorrow' award by the World Economic Forum in 2003, 'Global Young Leader' by the World Economic Forum in 2007 and 'Woman of Power Award' by Asian Business Leadership Forum in 2011.
Ms Bahwan is a graduate in Computer Science. She attended Harvard Business School and the Kellogg School of Management.
About Raja Easa Al Gurg
A leading business woman in the region, Mrs Al Gurg actively supports and encourages Arab women entrepreneurs, hosting the first MENA Businesswomen's Network Forum in her capacity as the President of the Dubai Business Women Council.
She is the President of Dubai Business Women Council, Deputy Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Dubai Healthcare City Authority; Board member of the Dubai Chamber Of Commerce & Industry (DCCI), Dubai Women's Association and HSBC UAE.
She holds memberships at the Dubai Economic Council, Arab International Women's Forum, National Advisory Council and College of Business Sciences.
Mrs Al Gurg received top ranking on the Forbes Middle East list of 'The Most Influential Arab Women in Family Business' in 2013. She is ranked fifth in the list of the '100 Most Powerful Arab Women 2012,' compiled by CEO Middle East; was ranked among the top 100 - 58th place in the list of the world's most influential Arabs in the Arabian Business 2012 Power 500 listing. Forbes International also listed her as the 4th most powerful Arab businesswoman in 2006. She has earned several other plaudits and awards in recent years.
Mrs Al Gurg represents the UAE at many international conferences and round-tables as a key-note speaker and is also part of the Government of Dubai's official delegation for various trade and commerce meetings.
She dedicates time to several philanthropic, social and charitable causes through the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation. Mrs Al Gurg is also the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Al Jalila Foundation, a non-profit organisation mandated to promote the UAE as a centre of excellence for medical research and education.
About Lama Al Sulaiman
Lama Al Sulaiman is Vice Chairwoman and Board Member of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She was the first woman in Saudi Arabia to be elected as a board member in the chamber of commerce in 2005 and was later re-elected deputy chairwoman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry in December 2009, becoming the first female to hold such a post in Saudi history.
She is the Head of the Saudi delegation in ILO, where she represents the private sector. She is also a board member and business developer at Rolaco Holdings, and a board member of Foras Investment in Saudi Arabia as well as Club Med in France.
She is a member of the Khadija Bint Khuwailed Lobbying center for women, and a member of the Ministry of Labor Advisory Board on women's issues. She is a Fellow of the third class of the Middle East Leadership Initiative of The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. In 2011, she was awarded the title of fifth most powerful female among the most 100 powerful women in the Arab world in a list compiled by Arabian businesses.
Dr Al Sulaiman holds her PhD in nutrition from King's College, London
For further information please contact
Sarah Aziz, Head of Marketing and Communications, Coutts
T: +9714 7065823
M: +97156 6563275
E: sarah.aziz@coutts.com
© Press Release 2014
