Media personality Nashwa Al Ruwaini, CEO of Pyramedia, recently won two prestigious international awards in recognition of her efforts in media and large enterprise management fields.

Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, honoured Al Ruwaini for being chosen among the Forbes 200 Most Powerful Arab Women, ranking 23rd in Family Businesses.

The honouring occurred in the presence of Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development; and Dr Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State in the Federal Government.

Hollywood Reporter magazine chose the CEO of Pyramedia as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Global TV during a ceremony organised on the side-lines of the 30th international TV festival (MIPTV) in Cannes, France. The magazine credited Al Ruwaini as a woman who set the standards and preferences for the TV industry during the media industry’s ‘Golden Era’.

Khuloud Al Omian, editor-in-chief, Forbes Middle East, said, “Al Ruwaini was chosen for her contributions in establishing large companies. The methodology adopted by the magazine chooses personalities based on their level of influence, years of professional experience, and degree of presence in the media and online, and the number of employees in the company.”

Hollywood Reporter described Al Ruwaini as the Oprah of the Arab World, who started her career as a teenager in Qatari radio and progressed to TV, where she became the youngest female presenter in the Middle East. Relocating MBC headquarters to Cairo, she further succeeded in establishing her own TV production company, Pyramedia. Founded in 1999, Pyramedia has offices in the Middle East, London, and New York and has been behind the markedly successful reality shows like Million's Poet, Prince of Poets, and Al Ruwaini's self-titled talk show, Nashwa, on Dubai TV.

The magazine recognised Al Ruwaini for transforming the traditional form of Arabic TV by introducing new content, and largely contributing to changing the social fabric of the audience. She succeeded in every challenge, which is a rare accomplishment in the media industry.

Al Ruwaini expressed her gratitude for being included in the illustrious and powerful list of women. She said, “I received recognition of a special kind because it was issued by many renowned and leading publications within the Middle East and the world. This honour recognises a long journey of continuous success built from more than 20 years of managing Pyramedia and from the production of distinguished shows and projects for various satellite channels.” – TradeArabia News Service