Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr

Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Bint Buti Bin Bishr is the vice chairwoman of Emaar Development board since Dec 2020. Bin Bishr is a global digital magnate and the former founding Director General of Smart Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. With the distinction of being the first woman to lead the transformation of a smart city globally, she has laid a robust foundation for upcoming talent and inspires youth towards building a better tomorrow through digitalisation. Bin Bishr is considered an Emirati global ambassador for digitalisation being a renowned thoughtleader advocating the humanisation of technology to create better urban smart future. She is among the world’s most powerful women leaders in business and technology, with Forbes ME ranking her among the Middle East’s Top 10 most powerful businesswomen in 2023. Bin Bishr is the non-executive chairman of the board of Shaffra, a Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS) company. Shaffra's platform leverages cutting-edge 3D technologies to offer a revolutionary way for organizations to interact with their customers and stakeholders. As a MaaS provider, Shaffra is at the forefront of the Metaverse industry and is committed to transforming the way companies engage with their customers. Bin Bishr's leadership will enable, Shaffra to be a trailblazer in the MaaS space in the UAE market and beyond. She was the Director General of the Smart Dubai Department, UAE between 2015-2020, the government entity entrusted with Dubai’s city-wide smart digital transformation by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Dr. Aisha also led the creation of ‘The Smart City Index’ - the first-ever benchmark for smart city implementation across the globe in cooperation with ITU and the United Nations. As an acclaimed digital transformation and Smart Cities thought leader globally, she represented Smart Dubai in City Protocol Society, Smart City Expo World Congress and GSMA. In addition to her responsibilities at Smart Dubai, Her Excellency was a member of the Dubai Council under the Government Development Track until July 2020. Her Excellency also was the Chairperson of the Dubai Future Council for Blockchain, which was launched as part of the Dubai Future Councils initiative by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, to assess and develop the future of key industry sectors in Dubai over the next 50 years. Dr. Aisha also was the chairwoman “The Council of Happy Cities” (part of the World Happiness Council), and was the Chairperson of the SDG 11 Global Council, and she was the only woman from the Middle East to be a member of the Gartner Global CIO Research Board. Additionally, Her Excellency serves as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils and The Fourth Industrial Revolution’s Smart Cities Readiness Index Team – an initiative also led by WEF. Her Excellency was also a Board Member at the Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE and a member of Emaar’s Board Committee until Dec 2020. Dr. Aisha was also a member of the board at the UAE AI Council, the Computer System Advisory Board, the Leadership Team for Smart Services and Digital Infrastructure, and she is a member of the Advisory Board of the College of Computing and Informatics at the University of Sharjah, the University of Wollongong, and the World Happiness Council. Dr. Aisha co-led the creation of the U4SSC’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for Smart Sustainable Cities (SSC) – the first-ever benchmark for smart city implementation across the globe, drafted in cooperation with the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations. As an acclaimed digital transformation and smart cities thought leader globally. Prior to her current role, Dr. Aisha served as Assistant Director General of Dubai Executive Office and Assistant Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Labour during her illustrious career. Throughout her 27-year experience in ICT development, Dr. Aisha committed herself to humanising digital transformation, from developing technologies to transforming human experiences.