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Dr Raja Al Gurg
Chairperson & Managing Director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg GroupDr Raja Easa Al Gurg is the Chairperson and Managing Director of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group (ESAG). She has achieved laurels for her stellar leadership of the Group under the tutelage of her late father, the Founder, Easa Saleh Al Gurg. Her counsel and valuable insights have significantly contributed to the growth and expansion of ESAG.
A leading business woman in her own right, Dr Al Gurg has carved a unique niche for herself in the region due to her support and encouragement of Arab women entrepreneurs. She is the Founder of the Dubai Businesswomen Council and a Member of the Board of Directors of Dubai Chambers, which will oversee and co-ordinate the work of three newly constituted chambers - Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and Dubai International Chamber. She is also a Board Member of Dubai Women’s Association.
Dr Al Gurg is the Deputy Chairperson of the National Bank of Fujairah and on the advisory board of Coutts Bank, the wealth division of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Dubai Academic Health Corporation and Vice Chairperson of University of Dubai. She is on the Board of Trustees, for the Mohammad Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences. She is also a member of the Board of Governors of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University and also on the Board of Trustees for Ajman University.
She was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate at Queen’s University Belfast for economics and also conferred the Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) honour by Amity University, India. In 2022, she has been appointed as Honorary Pro-Chancellor at Heriot Watt University.
Dr Raja Al Gurg is also the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Al Jalila Foundation, a non-profit organisation whose mandate is to promote the UAE as a centre of excellence for medical research and education. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Emirates Schools Establishment.
Dr Al Gurg featured in the top listing of Forbes ‘50 over 50’ in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in 2022. She has been ranked first in ‘The Middle East Most Powerful Businesswomen’ listing of Forbes Middle East for three consecutive years as well as the top ranking in the 2020 listing of the publication’s ‘100 Power Businesswomen in the Middle East.’ She was listed among ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ by Forbes for 2021.
The Rt Hon Baroness Symons Of Vernham Dean
Chairman at ABCCThe Rt Hon Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean is a senior Labour member of the House of Lords and a business leader. Formerly Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Symons was a Minister in the UK Government from 1997 until stepping down in 2005. Among her government posts she was Minister for the Middle East, Minister for International Trade and Minister for Defence Procurement, and the Prime Minister’s envoy to the Gulf.
Previously a trade union general secretary, she was an Equal Opportunities Commissioner and a governor of the London Business School. As well as working closely with DLA Piper, Baroness Symons is now involved with a number of other commercial organisations, including roles as a non-executive director of British Airways, and as an advisor to other companies, including those with strong Middle East links, and with a number of not-for-profit organisations, including the International Red Cross.
Mr Bandar Reda
Secretary General & CEO of ABCCMr Bandar Ali Reda joined the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, on 1st March 2019, as Secretary General and CEO, becoming the fourth person to lead the Chamber since its foundation almost five decades ago.
As CEO, Mr Reda contributes his expertise by drawing on his wealth of experience as a diplomat and extensive time spent in the private sector to ensure the Chamber moves to the next level.
Mr Reda has a distinguished professional career of more than a decade in banking and corporate industry at SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia, prior to senior positions in the diplomatic service of his country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he served as Commercial Attaché in the UK & Europe, based in London, and in Italy and as part of the Saudi delegation to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris.
Mr Reda holds a BA in Economics and Business Administration from Orlando, USA. He has been an Executive Member of the Saudi-Italian Business Council, the Council of Saudi Chambers; a Member of the Business Youth Committee, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce; a Member of the Saudi Economy Association; and a Member of the Saudi Arabian legal accountants. Mr Reda has demonstrated his experience and abilities in his roles in both public and private sectors.
Since taking up his post, Mr Reda has successfully steered the Chamber throughout the difficult months of the pandemic and lockdown, a period which presented unprecedented challenges for international trade and the business community. Under Mr Bandar Reda’s guidance and leadership, the Chamber not only continued all its activities uninterrupted but extended its services during this period and has reinforced its reputation as the leading strategic business services organisation in the UK dedicated to strengthening Arab-British trade and building closer business co-operation.