Lubna al-Olayan

Lubna Suliman al-Olayan is a Saudi businesswoman. She is the chairwoman of the Saudi-Swedish Business Council at the General Authority of Foreign Trade and its executive council. She is the chairwoman of the board of directors of Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB) and a member of the board of trustees of the Arab Thought Foundation.

Lubna al-Olayan earned her bachelor's degree in agronomy from Cornell University, in the United States of America, in 1977. She obtained her master's in business administration from Indiana University, in the United States of America.

Al-Olayan assumed the position of the chief executive officer of Olayan Financing Company for more than thirty-three years until her retirement in 2019. She is also a board member and a member of the group's board of shareholders.

She became a member of several boards of directors and trustees as well as advisory councils of local and international establishments and universities. Notable entities include Schlumberger NV, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden), the Down Syndrome Charitable Association (DSCA), Akbank, Allianz Insurance, McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, and Merrill Lynch. She is also a former board member of WPP plc, a British advertising and public relations company.

In 2004, Lubna al-Olayan founded the Olayan National Women's Action Program for Recruitment and Development (OnWard). The program aims to increase the number of Saudi female professionals and train women to acquire the necessary professional skills. Her work with the advisory team of the board of directors of Effat University contributed to the development of education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Time magazine selected Lubna al-Olayan among the top one hundred most influential people. Fortune magazine selected her as one of the world's most powerful women for consecutive years. Forbes magazine selected her as one of the world's most powerful businesswomen. The King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, granted her the First Class of the Order of the Polar Star. Cornell University, in the United States, granted her the title of the Business Female Entrepreneur of 2010. She was also awarded an honorary doctorate of law from Trinity College in Dublin, the capital of Ireland.