First Abu Dhabi Bank CEO ranked most powerful businesswoman in GCC

21/05/2025 02:01 AST

Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO at First Abu Dhabi Bank, has been ranked as the most powerful woman in business in the GCC, according to Fortune magazine's latest list.

Along with Al Rostamani, who is ranked 76th on the global list, Shaikha Al-Bahar, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer at National Bank of Kuwait, ranked 92nd.

The duo feature in Fortune's 2025 edition of the Most Powerful Women in Business list. The 28th edition of the list honours 100 female leaders from the global business landscape - spotlighting those who hold power now and those on the rise to even greater influence.

This year's iteration features 52 women from the US and 48 from other countries - eight from China; seven each from France and the UK; three each from Germany, Singapore, and Brazil; two each from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and Spain, and one each from the UAE and Kuwait.

As the Group CEO of the UAE's largest lender - a bank with roughly $330 billion in assets - Al Rostamani is currently the only female chief executive of a publicly listed corporation in the UAE. She serves on several boards, including the Institute of International Finance, the US-UAE Business Council, and Buna, the Arab Monetary Fund's cross-border payment system.

Al-Bahar was named Deputy Group CEO of the National Bank of Kuwait in 2014 after joining the institution in 1977. She is chair of the National Bank of Kuwait-France and the National Bank of Kuwait-Egypt as well as a board member with National Bank of Kuwait (International), the bank's UK subsidiary.

Al-Bahar is credited with launching NBK RISE, a programme designed to empower women leaders and prepare them for senior leadership roles. With over $135 billion in total assets at the end of March 2025, the National Bank of Kuwait is one of the largest financial institutions in the country and one of the leading banks in the region.

The list, compiled by Fortune editors is based on company size and health, as well as an executive's career trajectory, influence, innovation, and efforts to make business better. More than 50 women currently lead Fortune 500 companies, yet only 20 made this year's list - a testament to how increasingly competitive the ranking has become.

"In its 28th year, this iconic list of powerful women includes almost half from outside of the US, reminding us that the impact of women is being seen globally," said Alyson Shontell, Fortune editor in chief and chief content officer. "These are women transforming business today and preparing for a future during a time of tumult and uncertainty."

There are 16 newcomers, including Costco's chief operator and merchant Claudine Adamo (No. 43), helping millions of Americans navigate inflation by keeping prices low on essentials, and next-gen execs such as Julie Gao, CFO of ByteDance (No. 81), steering the TikTok owner's finances through its tangles with the US government.

The top 10 Most Powerful Women in Business 2025 are:

1. Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, GM (US)
2. Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, Accenture (US)
3. Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup (US)
4. Lisa Su, Chair and CEO, AMD (US)
5. Ana Botín, Executive Chairman, Banco Santander (Spain)
6. Tan Su Shan, Deputy CEO and Group Head of Institutional Banking, DBS Group (Singapore)
7. Thasunda Brown Duckett, President and CEO, TIAA (US)
8. Marta Ortega, Chairperson, Inditex (Spain)
9. Abigail Johnson, Chairman and CEO, Fidelity Investments (US)
10. Meng Wanzhou, Deputy Chairwoman, Rotating Chairwoman, and CFO, Huawei (China)

"This definitive ranking of the women at the top of the global business world.tells us both who wields power today and who is poised to climb even higher tomorrow," writes Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune senior writer, author of Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter, and editor of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Business list of 2025.

Khaleej Times