Sheikha Hanadi Nasser Bin Khaled Al Thani, chairperson and founder of Amwal and chief executive officer of Al Wa’ab City, received the ‘Businesswoman of the Year’ honour at the CEO Middle East Awards ceremony held in Dubai recently.

She joins the league of visionary entrepreneurs in the Middle East, noted for their sterling contribution to successful business management and execution of global best practices.

In addition to her leading role as the founder and chairperson of Amwal, Qatar’s leading investment banking and asset management firm, Sheikha Hanadi is the CEO of Al Wa’ab City, one of Qatar’s largest privately-held real estate projects.

Sheikha Hanadi was recently voted, by the Financial Times, among the top 20 global banking and finance women role models.

In 2007, she was named the Economic Personality of the Year 2007 by Qatar Chamber of Commerce and the Business Council. In 2006, she was named Woman CEO of the Year by the CEO Middle East Awards.

Sheikha Hanadi received the honour from Waleed Akkawi the CEO of ITP Group at the gala dinner held at the Raffles Hotel in Dubai. The CEO Middle East Awards are instituted by ITP Group, one of the leading publishing houses in the region.

An elated Sheikha Hanadi said the women in the Middle East were increasingly playing pivotal roles in leading businesses and proving their abilities.

'This honour is my tribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of women, who balance their responsibilities at home and work and are bringing about a dramatic transformation in the business sector,' she quipped.

“From my experience as an educationalist and currently as a business person, I am confident that women will continue to play a prominent role in shaping the entrepreneurial dynamics of the Gulf region. I urge women in the region to identify their abilities and contribute to nation building as active partners,” she added.

Sheikha Hanadi started her career as lecturing assistant at the Economics Department of Qatar University. She founded the Qatar Ladies Investment Company, now re-branded Amwal, in 1998.

Amwal is the first investment company to receive a licence from the Qatar Central Bank to conduct Investment Banking, Asset Management and Wealth Management in Qatar. 

In 2005, she founded Al Wa’ab City a $3.2 billion development spreading over 1.25 million sqm, one of the largest real estate projects owned by the private sector in Qatar.

Sheikha Hanadi is actively involved in community initiatives, and serves as trustee on the board of the Arab Women’s International Forum and the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University.
She is a member of the advisory board of The Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN) and a founding member of Qatar National Competitiveness Council; she is also the chairperson of Injaz Qatar and board member of Injaz Al Arab, the regional arm of Junior Achievement Worldwide.

She was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2005 and voted as personality of the year by Arraya, Qatar’s leading newspaper, for her vision and contribution to the economy.

She was selected by Arabian Business magazine as one of the 100 world’s most influential Arabs for the year 2007.

Leveraging on her experience she conducted and published several research papers on macro-economic issues in the GCC.

Sheikha Hanadi holds a Masters degree in Economics from the University of London, and a Bachelor degree in Economics from Qatar University.-TradeArabia News Service