Maha al-Ghunaim is the founder and CEO of one of the largest private investment banks in the Middle East. After studying mathematics at San Francisco State University, she began her career in 1982 in a Kuwaiti public financial institution. She co-founded Global Investment Banking in 1998 and became its Managing Director. She is also the head of the Kuwaiti branch of the network of young Arab economic leaders launched by the World Economic Forum in 2004. She became President of Global in 2007 and now manages a wide variety of investment funds, ranging from Islamic sharia-compliant funds to poorly regulated alternative funds. She also sits on the boards of directors of several companies in the region. A pioneer in a country where women only obtained the right to vote in 2005 and mother of four children, she has a passion for equality and has surrounded herself equally with men and women at the head of Global. She is a role model for many young women in the Arab world.
