President and Founder, Arab International Women’s Forum
Dr Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani OBE is President & Founder of the Arab International Women’s Forum and a leading development economist, widely recognised as a high-impact advocate for women’s leadership and youth empowerment in the MENA region and globally. She founded AIWF in 2001 to advance women’s economic participation and leadership, and has dedicated over two decades to promoting education, entrepreneurship, and opportunity for women and young people.
In 2017, she became a Fellow of the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative, where she focused on global sustainability and launched a sustainable agriculture project in Jordan. She was the only Arab Commissioner to serve on the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work.
Dr Al Kaylani serves on several influential boards and councils, including the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, the Stimson East West Council on Track II Diplomacy, and Harvard’s Women’s Leadership Board. In 2023, she was awarded an OBE by His Majesty King Charles in recognition of her decades of service to women and youth.