Her Highness Sheikha Dr Shamma bint Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan is a leading advocate for culture, education and national identity. Passionate about women’s empowerment and advancement, she champions their contributions to national development. A scholar of history, philosophy and social thought, Her Highness aspires to seamlessly blend economic, social and cultural development, thereby reinforcing the UAE’s global stature. Through strategic partnerships with leading educational and cultural institutions, she has spearheaded initiatives that embody her steadfast belief that culture, thought, and knowledge are the beating heart of sustainable development.

Her Excellency Lujaina Mohsin Darwish is a distinguished Omani business leader, diplomat, and advocate for inclusive socio-economic development. As Chairperson of Infrastructure, Technology, Industrial & Consumer Solutions (ITICS) at Mohsin Haider Darwish LLC, she spearheads a diversified portfolio of businesses driving innovation and growth across multiple sectors critical to Oman’s development.
A graduate in English Literature from Sultan Qaboos University, Her Excellency began her professional career as a lecturer before joining the family business. With a strong foundation in academia and deep-rooted values inherited from her late father and founder of the group, Mohsin Haider Darwish, she has led ITICS with a clear vision: to modernize, diversify, and contribute meaningfully to Oman’s future.
Under her leadership, ITICS has transformed into a forward-thinking brand that delivers cutting-edge solutions in infrastructure, advanced technology, industrial products, and high-end consumer offerings. The division is recognized for its strategic partnerships with global brands, commitment to operational excellence, and emphasis on sustainability. ITICS continues to play a vital role in supporting national goals aligned with Oman Vision 2040 by promoting technological advancement, job creation, and industry growth.
In January 2025, Her Excellency was appointed Honorary Consul of the Republic of South Africa in the Sultanate of Oman, further underscoring her diplomatic prominence. She made history as one of the few women elected to the Consultative Council (Majlis A’Shura), representing the Wilayat of Muscat, and later served in the State Council (Majlis A’Dawla) from 2015 to October 2023 by Royal Decree.
Beyond business and governance, Her Excellency is a committed advocate for women's empowerment, youth development, and inclusive leadership. She is a Board Member of the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF) and has actively participated in regional and global platforms addressing women and youth issues. Her work reflects a long-standing commitment to creating opportunities and breaking barriers for the next generation of Omani leaders.
Her contributions to sports development especially women’s sports are equally significant. She has served as a Board Member of the Oman Olympic Committee and the Oman Football Association, where she has helped establish long-term frameworks to support and promote women’s participation in athletics.
Recently, she was appointed CEO of the Board of Directors of the Arab Federation for Sports Marketing and Investment Association (ASMIA), operating under the Economic Council of the Arab League. Since February 2024, she has also been serving as President of the Arab Women Labor Affairs Committee, further amplifying her leadership role in regional social and economic forums.
Her Excellency is also Honorary Chairperson of the Oman-China, Oman-India, and Oman-Turkey Friendship Associations, and a member of the Oman-Kuwait Friendship Association, reinforcing her commitment to fostering international cooperation and cultural diplomacy.
Her outstanding leadership has earned her regional and global recognition. She was ranked 5th on Forbes' 2025 list of the “10 Strongest Women in Family-Owned Businesses in the Middle East”, after securing the 6th position in 2024. Additionally, she was featured in Forbes Middle East’s “Top 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen”, ranking 28th in 2023, 23rd in 2022, and 34th in 2020. She holds the distinction of being the first Omani to receive a Fellowship from the Royal Society of Arts (UK) in recognition of her contributions to sustainable development.
Her accolades also include the Successful Leading Woman Award at the iSuccess Festival in Cannes (2024), the Diamond Executive’s Award and Leadership Medal from the Harvard Business Council (2020), and the Women of the Year Award at the International Business Stevie Awards the same year.
A philanthropist at heart, H.E. Lujaina Mohsin Darwish remains deeply committed to community service and social development. Her work is guided by compassion, integrity, and a genuine desire to improve lives particularly those of underprivileged communities. She continues to inspire as a role model for women, youth, and aspiring leaders, both in Oman and across the region.

Her Excellency Marwa Al Mansoori advances cross-sector collaboration that turns policy ambition into execution—supporting decarbonization, competitiveness, and future-ready infrastructure, while accelerating the responsible adoption of AI to enhance decision-making, productivity, and resilience across critical sectors. Her work sits at the intersection of government, industry, and investment, translating national priorities into scalable initiatives with measurable economic and societal impact.

In her role at Siemens, Marwa leads transformative programs across energy efficiency, digital and smart infrastructure, smart cities, digital transformation, and mobility, with a clear objective: to structure and enable public–private partnerships that accelerate delivery of national priorities. She supports policy-to delivery pathways that strengthen resilience, productivity, and future readiness, and champions initiatives aligned with the UAE industrial agenda—primarily driven by Operation 300bn—which aims to position the nation as a leading industrial power by doubling the sector’s GDP contribution by 2031. She also advances AI enabled solutions—from decision intelligence and predictive operations to responsible AI governance—accelerating digital readiness and operational excellence across public and private ecosystems.

Previously, as Director of Strategic Sustainability Initiatives at SkyPower Global, Marwa helped shape clean energy and industrial decarbonization initiatives across emerging markets. Her work included structuring renewable energy programs and a mining decarbonization framework designed to reduce carbon emissions
across the MENA region, aligned with the UAE 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. She also contributed to the development of long-term power and infrastructure partnerships that supported economic growth, energy security, and scalable market development.

Alongside her corporate leadership, Marwa is an entrepreneur and social impact advocate whose entrepreneurial journey reflects an enduring commitment to innovation, economic empowerment, and global development. She has founded four ventures spanning health tech, consumer platforms, professional services, and advisory-led models—each designed to bridge market gaps and create long-term value. Her work emphasizes institution-building, capability transfer, and cross-border collaboration, strengthening the UAE’s knowledge economy, accelerating digital adoption, and enabling international partnerships. Beyond commercial outcomes, she has consistently aligned her ventures with humanitarian values and sustainability goals, using entrepreneurship as a platform to empower communities and drive meaningful progress at both national and global scale. Her contributions have been recognized internationally, including being named to Forbes Middle East’s 30 Under 30, underscoring her role as a credible partner to both government and industry—consistently aligning public priorities with private-sector capabilities to deliver tangible, scalable outcomes.

She serves on the Board of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council, the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award, and the Abu Dhabi School of Management, contributing to policy and regulatory dialogue, the advancement of private-sector competitiveness, and accelerated digital readiness at national and international levels.

Paula Yacoubian is a Lebanese lawmaker, reformist activist, and former journalist of Armenian descent. A leading voice for accountability and women’s empowerment, she is among the most prominent independent figures in Lebanese politics. Before entering parliament, she built a distinguished media career as one of Lebanon’s most recognized television journalists, known for her fearless political interviews and critique of corruption.
Elected to parliament in 2018 representing Beirut and re-elected in 2022, Yacoubian has advanced key legislative reforms on sexual harassment, whistleblower protection, transparency, environmental protection, and gender equality, including advocating for a women’s quota in electoral law. Her work has received international recognition, notably the Officer of the Order of the Crown awarded by King Philippe of Belgium in 2017.

Dr Saeeda Jaffar serves as Managing Director for Circle Middle East & Africa, where she leads the region to advance Circle’s vision of creating global economic prosperity through the frictionless exchange of value.

Drawing on deep experience scaling financial ecosystems across the region, Dr Jaffar partners with financial institutions, enterprises, fintechs, and regulators to accelerate the adoption of secure, programmable digital currency infrastructure across payments, treasury, and cross-border flows.

With over 20 years of leadership experience, Dr Jaffar is known for translating complex strategic challenges into practical, scalable outcomes. She has worked across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States on strategy, transformation, M&A, and performance initiatives, with deep specialization in financial services, including banks, private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, government institutions, and family-owned businesses.

Prior to joining Circle, Dr Jaffar served as Senior Vice President at Visa in the GCC and held leadership roles at McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, and Alvarez & Marsal.

Dr Jaffar currently serves as a Member of the Board of Trustees at Kuwait University, a Board Advisor to Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center, and a Member of the Advisory Council of the Dubai International Chamber. She previously served as a non-executive board member of United Arab Bank. Her leadership has been recognized by Forbes Middle East’s 100 Most Powerful Women list (2023–2025), along with honors from Arabian Business, Gulf Business, Economy Middle East, and Fast Company.
Dr Jaffar is an Emirati national and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University, where she was valedictorian, as well as a Master’s degree and Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Andrea Gontkovičová is PMI’s Vice President Corporate Affairs South & Southeast Asia (SSEA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) & Middle East & Africa (MEA) Region. In this capacity Andrea oversees external engagement and regulatory developments in PMI’s biggest geographical region. Prior to current appointment, Andrea served as Chairperson of the Board and Managing Director of Philip Morris Czech Republic, with responsibility for Company’s business in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Andrea started her professional career in 1997 at Philip Morris Slovakia and since then held positions of increased responsibility in Corporate Affairs, Commercial Development and Smoke-Free Products Divisions in countries in Central Europe and PMI’s Operations Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. In recognition of all Andrea’s contributions and success, she is a recipient of numerous prestigious awards from governments in the jurisdictions where she has worked.

Khadija Al Bastaki is the Senior Vice President of Dubai Design District (d3), a global business hub for design, art and creativity which is part of TECOM Group PJSC. She joined d3’s leadership team in 2019, developing and launching a series of strategic cultural and commercial initiatives to nurture and amplify local and regional homegrown creative talent as well as attract global direct foreign investment into Dubai’s design and creative sector. The d3 ecosystem, which this year marks a decade of creative excellence, provides state-of-the-art infrastructure to meet the needs of more than 1,100 customers and 20,000 creative professionals. It plays a leading role in contributing to the creative economy of Dubai, the UAE and the wider region.

Under Khadija’s leadership, d3 played a leading role in co-founding Dubai Fashion Week, the region’s definitive fashion showcase. d3 is also a key strategic partner for Dubai Design Week, the region’s largest creative festival, and Downtown Design.  Furthermore, the district is home to Sole DXB, a lifestyle and youth culture showcase.

In the past year Khadija has secured partnerships with Fuorisalone.it and Brera Design District, two keystone entities of Milan Design Week, and the Milan-based Isola Design Group, renowned for providing visibility and opportunities to global independent designers, design studios, and brands.  Isola Design Group opened its first-ever regional headquarters in d3, and under Khadija’s leadership, d3 co-launched with them the innovative Design Next, a first-of-its-kind exhibition on the circular economy.  She has also forged partnerships with Vogue Business and the Milano Durini Design Association, all aimed at further elevating the profile of Dubai’s creative ecosystem in key international markets.

Khadija’s achievements at d3 have earned her numerous notable awards and listings. She was selected among Arabian Business’ 50 Inspiring Women Leaders 2024, Forbes Middle East’s Fashion Innovators 2024, Forbes Middle East’s Top 100 Most Powerful Businesswoman 2024.  She also won Entrepreneur Middle East’s Outstanding Contribution to Business Award 2024 and the Editor’s Choice Award at the Emirates Woman Awards 2024. In 2023, Khadija earned a spot alongside global fashion industry mavens and luminaries in the prestigious Business of Fashion (BoF) 500 Class of 2023. The BoF 500 is the definitive index of people shaping today’s global fashion industry. She was also Gulf Business’s Businesswoman of the Year in 2021 and included in its Top Business Influencers for 2024.

In 2024, Khadija was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Dubai Women Establishment (DWE), formed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to empower Emirati women to become key contributors to the nation’s progress. Khadija is also a member of Media Diplomacy and Communication for the Government of Dubai Media Office. In addition, she is a certified Director by the Mudara Institute of Directors and has completed the Women on International Boards Programme with the Institute of Directors in London, Europe's largest membership organisation for directors and other business leaders.

Prior to her position at d3, Khadija undertook roles in the wider TECOM Group with Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City.  Before that, she worked with Economic Zones World, Jebel Ali Free Zone and DP World. Khadija holds a Master’s in Business Administration and Strategic Management from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi, and a Bachelor’s in Software Engineering Technology from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai.