Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Fadi GhandourFadi GhandourJordan, logistics. Ghandour co-founded Aramex in Amman in 1982, initially to deliver parcels into the Middle East for American courier firms that had no network there. It grew into the region's leading courier and logistics company and in 1997 became the first Arab-based company listed on Nasdaq.…0i
  2. 2Samih DarwazahSamih DarwazahJordan, pharmaceuticals. Darwazah, a pharmacist, founded Hikma in Amman in 1978 to make affordable generic medicines for Arab markets that relied on expensive imports. Winning approval from the US regulator early gave Hikma credibility across the region, and it expanded into Europe and the United…0i
  3. 3Ronaldo MouchawarRonaldo MouchawarSyria and the UAE, e-commerce. Mouchawar, born in Aleppo, founded Souq.com in Dubai in 2005 when few Arab shoppers trusted online payment. Cash on delivery, its own couriers and Arabic-language service made it the region's largest online shop, and Amazon bought it in 2017 as its entry into the…0i
  4. 4Huda KattanHuda KattanBorn 2 Oct 1983UAE, beauty. Kattan, an American of Iraqi parentage, started a make-up blog in Dubai in 2010, then launched false eyelashes in 2013 with money borrowed from her sister. Huda Beauty grew from her social media audience into a global cosmetics brand designed with Middle Eastern customers in mind. In…0i
  5. 5Sunny VarkeySunny VarkeyBorn 9 Apr 1957UAE, education. Varkey took over the small Dubai school his parents ran for Indian expatriate families and built GEMS Education, a network of private schools offering different curricula at fee levels from budget to premium. In Gulf states where most residents are foreign workers and state schools…0i
  6. 6Sulaiman Abdul Aziz Al RajhiSulaiman Abdul Aziz Al RajhiSaudi Arabia, banking. Al Rajhi began as a porter and money changer and, with his brothers, built a currency exchange and remittance business that became Al Rajhi Bank, one of the world's largest Islamic banks. Serving the millions of foreign workers sending wages home was central to its growth. He…0i
  7. 7Lubna OlayanLubna OlayanBorn 4 Aug 1955Saudi Arabia, distribution and investment. Olayan joined the Olayan Group, founded by her father as a trading and distribution company representing foreign consumer and industrial brands in the kingdom, and led its investment arm for decades. She became one of the first women to run a major Saudi…0i
  8. 8Vehbi KoçVehbi KoçBorn 20 Jul 1901Turkey, manufacturing. Koç opened a small grocery shop in Ankara in 1917 and, as the new republic built its capital, moved into building supplies and the import of cars and appliances. In 1963 he formed Koç Holding, Turkey's first holding company, which made refrigerators, cars and trucks at home…0
  9. 9Sakıp SabancıSakıp SabancıBorn 7 Apr 1933Turkey, industry and banking. Sabancı grew up in his family's cotton business in Adana and, as head of the family firm from 1967, turned it into Sabancı Holding, spanning textiles, tyres, cement, food and Akbank. Its roots in southern Turkish agriculture gave it a different base from the Istanbul…0
  10. 10Gil ShwedGil ShwedIsrael, cybersecurity. Shwed co-founded Check Point in 1993 after military service in an intelligence technology unit, and its FireWall-1 product commercialised stateful inspection, a way of filtering network traffic that became standard. He ran the company for three decades, turning it into one of…0i