KEO International Consultants CEO Chosen as One of 12 Most Influential Gulf Businesswomen

Kuwait, Kuwait, January 27, 2008 --(PR.com)-- In the 18th January 2008 Issue of MEED Magazine, the 12 most influential businesswomen in the Arabian Gulf were announced. The publication features 4 prominent Kuwait business leaders as follows:

Donna Sultan
CEO, KEO International Consultants
Donna Sultan is chief executive officer (CEO) of Kuwait's KEO International Consultants, a consulting firm providing architectural design, civil engineering, and project and construction management services. Sultan joined KEO as a director in 1984. At the time, the firm had 300 employees and was primarily known as a medium-sized regional consultancy with annual fees of about $8m. She was appointed CEO in 1991, shortly after the end of the Gulf War, when the company had only 26 employees. Under her leadership, the firm recovered and today has nine offices, a staff of more than 1,600, and is actively involved in the design and management of some of the most prestigious projects in and outside the region. Its projected annual revenue for 2007 is more than $100m, boosted by expansion into the GCC, Asia, Iran, North Africa and Europe.

Sheikha al-Bahar
General manager, National Bank of Kuwait
Sheikha al-Bahar is general manager of the corporate banking group at the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK). She is also chairwoman of Al-Watany Bank of Egypt and vice-chairwoman of NBK Capital. Managing a portfolio of about $11bn, Al-Bahar leads NBK's corporate banking group in the lending, marketing and investment banking areas, specialising in large and structured finance transactions. She is also responsible for relationships with domestic corporate and institutional clients, and international corporates operating in Kuwait. She has been involved in all of the Kuwait Investment Authority's privatisation deals since 1994. Recently, she has managed transactions including a one-year $5m bridge loan for Saudi Telecom and a 14-year, $1.4bn project financing loan for Kuwait Paraxylene Production Company.

Maha Hussain
Chairwoman, Petrochemical Industries Company
Maha Hussain is the newly appointed chairwoman and managing director of Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC). She has held the position of deputy chairwoman and deputy managing director of planning and joint ventures since November 2001. Hussain joined PIC as a chemical engineer in 1976 and has held various positions in the company. As chairwoman, she will oversee the company's future investment in olefins and aromatics. Hussain is also chairwoman of Equate Petrochemical Company, a joint venture of PIC, the US' Dow Chemical and the local Boubyan Petrochemical Company, and of ME Global, a joint venture of PIC and Dow Chemical. She is a member of the oversight committees for several petrochemicals projects. She holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of California in the US.

Maha al-Ghunaim
Position: Chairwoman, Global Investment House
Maha al-Ghunaim founded Kuwait's Global Investment House in 1998 and is currently its chairwoman and managing director. Al-Ghunaim is responsible for growing the global business across the Middle East and helped to launch the Global Index on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. She is a board member of Kuwait's National Industries Group, BankMuscat International (Bahrain), Dubai-based Depa United Group and Dubai International Financial Exchange. She serves as vice-chairwoman of National Ranges Company (Mayadeen) and Oman's Shurooq Investment Services Company. She joined Kuwait Foreign Trading Contracting & Investment Company in 1982, where she became head of the portfolio management department in 1988. She was later appointed assistant general manager for asset management at Kuwait Investment Company.

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