Saudi bourse appoints first female chair
RIYADH, February 17, 2017
Sarah Al Suhaimi, the chief executive of NCB Capital, the investment banking unit of National Commercial Bank, has become the first woman to chair The Saudi Stock Exchange, the largest bourse in the region.
Al Suhaimi was appointed chairwoman of the Tadawul, replacing Khalid Al Rabiah, reported Bloomberg.
She is expected to keep her position at NCB Capital, stated the report citing a person familiar with the appointment. Al Suhaimi was the first female head of a Saudi investment bank when she assumed the role in 2014, according to the report.
Before joining NCB Capital, Al Suhaimi was chief investment officer at Jadwa Investment and a senior portfolio manager at Samba Financial Group.
Her father, Jammaz Al Suhaimi, was the head of the Capital Market Authority, the market regulator, until 2006.
Al Suhaimi’s appointment is significant for Saudi Arabia where the female unemployment rate is more than 34 per cent, stated the report.
Change is starting to happen with the number of working women jumping 50 per cent between 2010 and 2015, and more Saudi women entering male-dominated fields such as banking and engineering.
Al Suhaimi’s appointment is significant for Saudi Arabia where the female unemployment rate is more than 34 per cent, stated the report.
The appointment is in line with an ambitious economic and social reform programme announced by the government last year, said the report, citing experts.
One of its goals is to develop women's role in the economy and increase their participation in the workforce to 30 percent from 22 percent in coming year, it added.
