The Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance announced that HE Dr Ahmad Al Shaikh has been elected as the Chairman of the Hawkamah Board, replacing outgoing Chairman HE Hamad Buamim. Alya Al Zarouni, Executive Vice President of Operations at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority, has been appointed as a member of the Hawkamah Board.

Commenting on the appointments, Dr Ashraf Gamal El Din, Hawkamah’s CEO, said, “Dr Ahmad Al Shaikh brings a wealth of expertise to this role as an experienced Board Chairman and Vice Chairman and as the member of several councils and advisory boards. He has been actively involved with Hawkamah since he joined the Board over a year ago. We also welcome our newest Board member Alya Al Zarouni, who has held several senior roles at DIFC Authority. She adds a lot of value to Hawkamah and brings the percentage of women on the Hawkamah Board up to 40%.”

Dr Al Shaikh is the Managing Director of Hassan Bin Al Shaikh Group, which has holdings in the printing, manufacturing and real estate sectors. In addition to 35 years of experience at the Group, Dr Al Shaikh is involved with several public and private sector organisations as the Chairman of DUCAB and a Board member of the General Pension and Social Security Authority, with previous roles including Chairman of Ducab HV and Vice Chairman of Emirates Islamic Bank.

Dr Al Shaikh said, “I look forward to this new opportunity, and to guiding Hawkamah as it continues to build on its accomplishments. Corporate governance is especially relevant in this time of significant change in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Dr Al Shaikh added, “The Hawkamah Board will benefit from Mrs Al Zarouni’s expertise in strategy, quality management, digitalisation, operational efficiency and organisational development as Hawkamah takes its advisory services to new levels.” 

In her current role as Executive Vice President of Operations at DIFC Authority, Mrs Al Zarouni’s primary objective is to ensure that the Centre’s management framework and internal operations are well-aligned to support the delivery of DIFC’s 2024 Strategy and its objectives. Prior to this role, Mrs Al Zarouni was the Authority’s Senior Vice President of Government & Registry Services and a Director at the Project Management Office of DIFC. 

Since its establishment in 2006, the Hawkamah Institute for Corporate Governance has led the way to better corporate governance in the Middle East and Africa. The Institute was originally founded as a ‘think-and-do tank’ to research, advocate, advance and develop good corporate governance practices in the region by providing regulators, companies and organisations with practical tools to improve corporate governance. Corporate governance refers to the mechanisms and processes that a company’s leadership employs to guide the organisation. Hawkamah’s mission is to promote corporate sector reform and good governance by assisting regional countries and companies with the process of developing and implementing good and sustainable corporate governance policies, strategies and practices that enhance value creation.