Salma Hareb, chief executive officer of Economic Zones World, has been named the ‘Woman CEO of the Year’ at the Women In Leadership (WIL) Forum, a two-day event held recently in Abu Dhabi.

The award is to honour the most successful woman CEO of a leading company, from any industrial sector, over the last 12 months, said a WIL statement.

The WIL Forum, was attended by female business leaders from across the region with a special focus this year on key support pillars that help in guiding towards effective leadership by women.

The panel of judges cited Hareb for her exceptional leadership qualities, decision making abilities, strategic management skills and inspiring initiatives.

Commenting on the win, Hareb said: “I am honoured to receive this recognition. At Economic Zones World we consistently encourage our women executives to take on challenging roles and my personal effort remains to lead by example.”

Hareb has won several top industry awards, regionally and globally, for leadership roles since she became the first woman in the Middle East and North Africa to head a free zone in September 2005 when she took over as CEO of Jafza.-TradeArabia News Service