RIYADH: Sheila Al-Rowaily, who labored as a financier with Saudi Aramco, has turn out to be the primary girl to hitch the board of administrators of Saudi Central Financial institution.
The financial institution, often known as SAMA, confirmed the appointment in an announcement, citing a royal decree.
Al-Rowaily is the CEO of Wisayah Funding Co. since 2019, and is additionally a board member of Saudi Aramco Energy Co. and Hassana Funding Co.
She led many progressive tasks for Saudi Aramco, together with the creation of Wisayah, which invests Saudi Aramco Group Firms’ pension funds, outlined contribution funds and different long-term funding portfolios.
Based on London primarily based economist Mohamed Ramady, Al-Rowaily’s appointment to the SAMA Board mustn’t come as a shock to all those that knew and labored along with her.
“She has a well mannered and unassuming character that belied her fast grasp of key points and long-term implications for Aramco funding choices demonstrated many occasions throughout conferences along with her to debate funding and treasury merchandise, and one got here away having discovered from her,” he mentioned.
Learn Extra: Who’s Who: Sheila Al-Rowaily
Al-Rowaily joined Saudi Aramco in 1998 as a cash market dealer, and from July 2005 to June 2006 she labored as a monetary analyst in Dhahran. Al-Rowaily moved to Houston, Texas in July 2006 and labored there till December 2007 as treasurer.
She returned to Dhahran in January 2008 and labored as head of portfolio administration at Aramco till January 2009.
From February 2009 to January 2019, Al-Rowaily labored as director of the funding administration division at Aramco.
“She’s going to add an skilled voice and perspective to SAMA’s board.”
Mohamed Ramady
Al-Rowaily earned a Sloan Fellowship for MBA in enterprise from MIT Sloan Faculty of Administration in 2017-2018.
She obtained a bachelor’s diploma in inside structure from King Faisal College after which earned an MBA in finance from American College of Beirut in 1997.
Following the announcement, Saudi Central Financial institution confirmed Al-Rowaily can be stepping down from its board.
Saudi influential girl in vitality:
- Al-Rowaily has been chosen as a part of Hart Power’s 2021 class of 25 Influential Girls in Power.
- The popularity highlights the achievements of girls who had an influence on world oil and gasoline sectors.
The Saudi Central Financial institution
Based mostly in Riyadh, SAMA was based in 1952 because the Kingdom’s central cash and banking authority.
It regulates industrial and improvement lenders and different monetary establishments in Saudi Arabia. The financial institution’s belongings at the moment stand at $490 billion, in accordance with the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.
Chaired by Fahad Abdullah Al-Mubarak, SAMA at the moment has a complete of 5 members on its board of administrators.
Together with Sheila Al-Rowaily, the most recent decree included the approval for appointing Hamad Al-Sayyari, Khaled Al-Juffali, Rashed Al-Humaid and Abdullah Hasan Al-Abdulqader, as members of the board of administrators.
Saudi girls in excessive profile roles
Lately, Saudi Arabia’s Imaginative and prescient 2030 has targeted on girls’s empowerment and workforce, with efforts directed in direction of rising feminine employment in diplomatic and governmental providers.
Girls becoming a member of the workforce in Saudi Arabia has been a key improvement of the Kingdom’s Imaginative and prescient 2030 social and financial reforms, which has seen their participation bounce from 19 % in 2016 to 33 % final yr.
“Within the Kingdom, females have assumed senior monetary roles as financial institution CEO’s, and as Capital Market Executives as a part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to make sure a extra degree taking part in discipline for certified females in prime positions,” Ramady mentioned.
“It won’t be stunning to see a Saudi feminine Central Financial institution governor within the not too distant future given their functionality,” he added.
A number of high-profile Saudi feminine professionals
- Sarah Al-Suhaimi is chair of Tadawul, the Saudi inventory trade
- Reema bint Bandar is Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US
- Leila bint Hamad Al-Kassem is the primary girl appointed as undersecretary for planning and digital transformation by the Saudi Islamic minister.
- Lubna Olayan is chair of the Saudi British Financial institution
- Rania Nashar is a former CEO of the Samba Monetary Group.
- Nora bint Abdullah Al-Fayez is the primary Saudi feminine vice-minister on the Ministry of Schooling
Girls of the world’s central banks
“The appointment of Saudi Arabia’s first feminine Central Financial institution Board member is a main step for such central financial institution range worldwide primarily based on benefit and never token gender,” Mohamed Ramady mentioned.
Efforts are underneath means at central banks worldwide to enhance gender range with 15 of the world’s central banks having feminine governors, together with 5 Latin American nations. Along with Russia, Malaysia and Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Financial institution, he added.
Ramady identified that it has taken a few years for the US Federal Reserve to have a primary feminine chair the central financial institution — Janet Yellen — however there are actually three feminine board members.
But a lot stays to be carried out in what has historically been a male-dominated sector, particularly within the Gulf, as Bahrain was the primary to nominate a feminine central financial institution board member, he mentioned.
- Russia: Elvira Nabiullina is the present head of the Central Financial institution of Russia, she was appointed in June 2013 and in 2017 her powers have been renewed for the subsequent five-year time period.
- European Central Financial institution: Isabel Schnabel is a German economist who was appointed in 2019 to function an government board member of the European Central Financial institution.
- Thailand: Tarisa Watanagase is the previous governor of the Financial institution of Thailand, she served from 2006 to 2010.
- South Africa: Gill Marcus is the previous governor of the South African Reserve Financial institution, she is the ninth individual and the primary girl to carry the place. She served from 2009 to 2014.
