Top UAE businesswomen and aspiring leaders were awarded for their achievements in and out of the work place at the Women in Leadership (WIL) Forum, which opened in Dubai yesterday.

Butheina Hamad Kazim, Strategy & Business Development Manager, Dubai Media Inc, was awarded the Woman Leader in the Public Sector and Hulya Kefeli, executive vice president, Akbank took the Most Successful Businesswoman of the Year title.

Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb, chief executive officer – Economic Zones World, received the Woman CEO of the Year award for playing an integral part in the development of the company.

Fatima Al Jaber, COO, Al Jaber Group, an accomplished engineer with significant expertise in the management of international businesses, was awarded with a prestigious honorary achievement award for her dedication and success in the business world.

“The awards are a great platform to support our fellow sisters in business. Fatima Al Jaber is a role model to many, her achievements are something for young business women and entrepreneurs to aim for and the honorary achievement award seemed right, she really is a true woman in leadership” said Sophie Le Ray, CEO of naseba.

Other women honoured at the awards were Rana El Eid, managing partner, Azur Spa
who was recognised as the Most Innovative Entrepreneur of the year and Jill Nealon, senior vice president, HRD Group, as Woman Manager of the Year.

The awards marked the end of day one with Christine Lagarde, the French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment delivering the opening keynote by video presentation, stressing it was essential that women that had climbed the corporate ladder should support the sisterhood in business.

Rebecca McLaughlin-Duane, TV anchor and guest moderator introduced day one’s first panel chaired by Fatima Al Jaber, Ameera Abdel Rahim Bin Karam, chairperson at the Sharjah Business Women Council; Afnan Rashid Al Zayami, chairwoman of Al Zayani Commercial Services; and Professor Philip Anderson, Alumni Fund Chaired Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD.

The panel agreed that leadership qualities do not accompany an elevated position, nor are they gender specific and that it is not all about knowledge and university degrees, women can call on their leadership qualities that they have honed over the years as a wife and mother, which will serve them well when they enter the business world.

Helen Konstantopulous, managing director – development, International Herald Tribune and New York Times Global, moderated the opening panel discussing how corporations are benefiting from women leaders in diversified industries, ranging from traditional clothing industries through to the high-tech world of semiconductors.

She also addressed the key points of harnessing women’s power within a corporation and measuring women’s performance on gender-related issues.

Another highlight was the interactive panel discussion on developing employees to become leaders moderated by Dr Amanda Nimon Peters, managing director of Sara Black International. – TradeArabia News Service