Lubna Olayan

Lubna Suliman Olayan currently serves as Chair of the Corporate Board of The Olayan Group, one of the Middle East's largest privately-held multinational enterprises. She joined Olayan Financing Company in 1983 at a time when women in Saudi corporate leadership were virtually unheard of, and served as CEO for over 30 years before transitioning to the chairmanship. In June 2019, she was named Chairwoman of the Saudi British Bank (SABB), making her the first Saudi woman to head a bank, a position she retained through re-election in January 2023 for another three-year term.

Olayan holds a BSc from Cornell University and an MBA from Indiana University. Before joining her family's business, she worked at Morgan Guaranty Trust Bank in New York City from 1979 to 1981. In 2004, she became the first woman to join the board of a Saudi publicly listed company when elected to Alawwal Bank's board. Her subsequent board memberships include Schlumberger (since 2011), Ma'aden mining company (2016), and WPP plc (2005-2012).

Olayan was awarded the Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010 and was listed as the 86th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes as of 2014. She was selected by Time as being amongst the 100 most influential people in the world and has been on Fortune's list of Most Powerful Women for many years running. She has received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Trinity College, Dublin and the insignia of Member First Class of the Royal Order of the Polar Star from His Majesty the King of Sweden, Carl Gustav XVI. She is on the board of trustees of the World Economic Forum and serves on the Board of Directors of INSEAD (since 2005).

Career history

• Chair of the Corporate Board, The Olayan Group (2019-present)
• Chair of the Board, Saudi British Bank/Saudi Awwal Bank (2019-present)
• CEO and Deputy Chairman, Olayan Financing Company (1986-2019)
• Board Member, Schlumberger (2011-present)
• Morgan Guaranty Trust Bank, New York (1979-1981)

What Lubna Olayan could bring to the Olayan Group Chair role: Her four decades of transformational leadership in building one of the Middle East's most diversified conglomerates, combined with her pioneering work advancing women in business, international board experience at institutions like the World Economic Forum and INSEAD, and demonstrated expertise in global corporate governance, positions her to drive strategic growth, strengthen stakeholder relationships, and advance the Group's positioning in an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic landscape.