In Conversation with Dr Raja Al Gurg

Event Description

The Chief Executives’ Club at Queen’s and Women in Business are pleased to announce ‘In Conversation with Dr Raja Al Gurg’.

Join us for this lunchtime event presented by Roseann Kelly MBE of Women in Business and hosted by The Chief Executives’ Club at Queen’s. The event will be held in the Canada Room and Council Chamber located in the Lanyon Building at Queen’s University from 11.00 am – 12.45 pm.

About Dr Raja Al Gurg

Dr Raja Al Gurg is Chairperson and Managing Director of the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group. With four decades of experience as a businesswoman in sectors as diverse as education and manufacturing, Raja has had hands-on experience with a wide variety of sectors in the corporate world.

Al Gurg’s reputation as one of the foremost female business leaders in the Middle East is underscored by the countless board positions she holds and the associations she is affiliated with in the UAE and beyond. She is the Founder of the Dubai Business Women Council, and regularly represents the UAE at international conferences. Alongside her professional endeavours, Al Gurg is focused on a number of philanthropic missions.

She is regularly engaged in charitable activities with the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation and the Al Jalila Foundation, a UAE organisation dedicated to improved and accessible healthcare. Yet, Al Gurg’s commitment lies most strongly with advocacy for women in the workplace, creating opportunities for them to thrive and develop in their careers.

Her work in this area has yielded a list of impressive accolades, including being listed for multiple years among ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women’ by Forbes and held the number one position for 2021 in Forbes Middle East’s ‘Most Powerful Businesswomen’. In Raja Al Gurg: An Autobiography, Raja reflects truthfully on the various challenges faced as a Muslim woman in business, offering lessons from experience to a new generation of ambitious young women. The Power of Authenticity is her latest book.

The Power of Authenticity: Three Principles of Successful Leadership

The Power of Authenticity: Three Principles of Leadership Success is a fascinating and candid account of the obstacles and triumphs that Raja Al Gurg faced on her path to becoming one of the most influential businesswomen in the Arab world.

Al Gurg is the Chairperson and Managing Director at the Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, an eminent family business in the UAE. In The Power of Authenticity, she gives invaluable insight into the lessons she learned first as a secondary school principal before climbing the ladder of a diversified conglomerate that represents businesses ranging from retail to real estate.

As a respected business leader in the region, Al Gurg has defied conventional understandings about women in the Middle East, acknowledging that it was her handling of these all-too-pervasive challenges that ultimately shaped her leadership style and fostered her drive for success. Turning setbacks into strategies, she shares with readers the tactics and tools that she has gleaned from her illustrious career that will inspire the next generation of business leaders.

Perfect for fans of Sheryl Sandberg, Indra Nooyi and Kashmir Maryam, Al Gurg’s lessons, and how they relate to her background and broader business philosophy, are a unique and essential contribution to literature on an increasingly competitive and diverse corporate world. By harnessing the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual energy that resides within each person, Al Gurg explains how a leadership style based on personal authenticity can lead to business success. Along the way, she considers: What does it take to steer a company? How can a failure be turned into an advantage? How can women business leaders break down barriers and make a difference in the corporate world? Confident and encouraging, The Power of Authenticity answers these questions, and many more.

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