Top 10 women HR leaders driving inclusive workplaces in Middle East

On this International Women’s Day, we present a list of the top 10 women HR leaders across the Middle East region, who are responsible for driving an inclusive, diverse, and engaged workplace culture. These women HR leaders in the Middle East region have been recognised for their contributions to empowering workplaces, enhancing employee experiences, promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives, and fostering leadership development.

Fatema Al Afeefi 

Fatema currently serves as the Head of Employee Experience and HR Digitalisation at Du, UAE. With extensive HR leadership experience, she drives transformational initiatives and serves on advisory boards. Over two decades, she has contributed to the banking and aviation sectors in the UAE with organisations including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Emirates Institute Finance, UAE Banks Federation, and HSBC.

On the academic front, Fatema holds a degree in business psychology, certification as a Human Resource Professional (CHRP), and qualifications from the Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD). She advocates for diversity and inclusion, digital transformation, and gender equality in workplaces across the UAE.

Sarah Tabet 

Sarah has been serving as the Head of Human Resources at Siemens Energy Middle East since her appointment in March 2023. Before assuming this role, she held the position of Global Human Resources Director and D&I leader at Schneider Electric and worked as an HR Reward Analyst across the Middle East and North Africa for British American Tobacco. 

Sarah is renowned as an inspirational and award-winning D&I leader. She is also the author of the book titled 'Inclusion Starts with U,' which offers practical tips and insights into understanding that Diversity and Inclusion are not merely corporate topics but also about mindset and culture.

Belgin Ertam

Belgin currently holds the position of Advisor and Council Member at the Human Capital Advisory Council (HCAC) in Dubai. Previously, she served as the Vice President of HR for General Electric - MENAT, as a Lecturer of HRM at Yeditepe University, as HR Director at DHL Express Turkey, and as HR Director at Microsoft. Additionally, she has been a Board Member of PERYÖN, the Turkish People Management Association, for six years. 

With over 27 years of experience in human capital management (HCM) strategy, leadership, and change management within global organisations, Belgin also fulfils roles as a coach, leader, and speaker at key events celebrating HR transformation across the MENA region.

Fatima Abdulrahman Al Awadhi

Fatima currently serves at Tanfeeth, part of the Emirates NBD Group, as the Chief Voice Operations Officer, a role she was recently elevated to after serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of Employee Services for a decade. She was a key speaker at COP28 UAE, discussing topics such as driving digital transformation, empowering Emirati founders, and pioneering ESG solutions for the UAE's future.

Previously, Fatima served at Liv. Bank as the Head of Customer Acquisition and at Emirates NBD as an HR Business Partner. Additionally, she held the position of vice chairperson on the Women's Committee of the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies. Fatima is a certified Customer Experience Performance Leader and holds several licences and certifications in strategic HR leadership, innovation, business strategy, and financial performance.

Sara Boueri

Sara currently holds the position of global Chief Human Resources Officer and HR Advisor. She served as the CHRO at Future Pipe Industries until July 2023. In her previous roles, she worked as the Senior Director of Human Resources at Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, the Head of Human Resources at Otis Elevator Co., and the Head of HR at Al Nasr Contracting. 

With core competencies in HR leadership, including change management, HR policies, compensation and benefits, employer branding, psychology, executive coaching, performance management, and people management, Sara now serves as an advisor, mentor, and leader to organisations striving for positive cultural change. She was also awarded for her HR leadership and innovation in 2020, listed among the Top 50 HR leaders in the Middle East in 2021, and named CHRO of the Year at the HR Tech Summit and Awards in 2023, among other accolades in her career as an inspirational HR leader.

Dena Almansoori

Dena was recently appointed as the Group Chief AI and Data Officer at Etisalat (e&), after serving the company as the group CHRO for the last three years. She is also the founder and CEO of WhiteBox HR, which she established in 2019. 

Dena possesses around three decades of HR leadership experience, having worked with leading organisations including the Central Bank of The UAE, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Target, and SLB Global. She also serves as a Mentor at DIFC FinTech Hive and Hub71 for over two years now. Last year, Dena was awarded as the CHRO of the Year by HRSE.

Georgette Yousef

Georgette currently serves as the group CHRO at Al Ansari Financial Services, bringing with her over 25 years of global HR leadership experience and a CIPD qualification. Previously, she held roles such as Director of HR and Support Services at Amanat Holdings, Head of HR at Bin Drai Enterprises, and Global Senior HR Business Partner at CDM Smith PJSC. 

Georgette has been recognised for her outstanding contributions with awards such as the Emirates Woman of The Year 2023 by Dubai Quality Group and the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award 2023 by Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Her expertise in HR transformation spans various sectors, including finance, education, health, civil engineering, and hospitality.

Hamda AlShamali

Hamda currently serves as the Group Chief People and Intellectual Capital Officer at Mashreq. Previously, she held positions at Daman as the Executive Director of HR, at Barclays as the Head of Emiratisation and Vice President of HR, at HSBC as the Head of Nationalisation and Local Talent, and at the Commercial Bank of Dubai. 

Hamda is known for driving talent acquisition, diversity and inclusion, nationalisation initiatives, as well as fostering an engaging and productive work culture in leading organisations in the banking sector.

Dr Nadia Bastaki

Dr. Nadia currently serves as the Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer at Etihad, a position she has held for over 15 years. She was appointed as the first-ever female executive at the national airline in 2021.

Prior to this, Dr Nadia worked as the Vice President of Medical Wellbeing CSR, HSE, and Environment, where she developed the Etihad Airways Medical Centre and oversaw areas such as medical insurance, diversity, and inclusion.

Maitha Al Marar

Maitha currently serves as the Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Abu Dhabi Ports. She joined the ports group in 2008 as the Head of Employee Relations and has since progressed to various leadership roles, including Vice President of Human Capital & Emiratisation and Senior Human Resources Business Partner over the last 15 years. 

Maitha has been recognised for her efforts in continuously improving employee well-being and workplace culture, as well as for her transformational work, receiving several accolades in recent years, including the Investors in People Platinum Award 2019, Excellence Award for Best Corporate Support 2019, and Process Improvement Award 2019. She is also known as the first woman to address the HR Tech World Congress in 2015. Prior to joining the ports group, she worked with the Port of Fujairah as a Board Member, Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company as an HR officer, and the Department of Finance as an HR officer.