Saudi woman becomes first female to head publicly traded bank in kingdom

One of Saudi Arabia's most powerful businesswomen, Lubna Olayan, was recently announced as the first chairwoman of a publicly listed local bank. 

The news comes after the Saudi British Bank (SABB) and Alawwal Bank confirmed that they have become one entity following a historic merger. The business mogul has been the deputy chair of Alawwal Bank since 2014. 

SABB and Alawwal bank now form the third largest bank (by assets) in Saudi Arabia. 

"The two banks signed a binding merger agreement last October which was followed by months of regulatory and shareholder approvals," Saudi Gazette reported. 

In a statement regarding her new role and the recent merger, Olayan said:

"Now our size, enhanced capabilities, and fantastic talent will help us build on that history and legacy to become the bank of choice for a modern Saudi Arabia. We will be the best place to bank and the best place to work in the Kingdom, for a new generation of Saudi men and women and for the new era of development under Vision 2030."

A joint statement issued by the formerly separate entities revealed that the banks will "continue to operate a normal service while work continues to fully integrate their products and services."

SABB also stated that Khalid Bin Abdullah Al-Mulhem would continue as the bank's vice chairman and David Dew will still maintain his role as managing director.

Widely considered to be one of the most >influential businesswomen in the Middle East, Olayan oversees more than 40 companies under a family-run finance business. She is the CEO of Olayan Financing Company (OFC), a conglomerate founded by her father in 1947.

She studied in the United States, having earned a Bachelor of Agriculture from Cornell University and an MBA in Business Management from the University of Indiana. Before returning to her home country in 1981, the business mogul worked for prestigious international companies including Morgan Guaranty in New York. 

She joined her family firm in 1983 as the first and >only woman. Since then, she has been praised for her progressive business practices, bringing more than 400 women to join the company's team.

With her election to the board of the Saudi Hollandi Bank in 2004, she became the first ever woman to hold that instrumental position. She is known to use her influence to support women empowerment initiatives in the kingdom and in countries across the Arab world. 

The news of Olayan's new role comes at a time when a record number of women are being appointed in high-rank official roles.

Earlier this year, Saudi Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud officially made history after >being sworn in as the kingdom's first-ever female U.S. ambassador.

In 2017, Eman bint Abdulla Al-Ghamdi became the first Saudi woman to hold a municipal role after she >was appointed the assistant mayor of Al-Khobar municipality for information technology. That same year, the country >assigned the role of spokesperson for the kingdom's embassy in Washington to a woman.

In recent months, Saudi women have also been joining the country's workforce in> large numbers as new professions> open up to them.