KUWAIT: Zain, Kuwait’s leading digital service provider, announced that Chief Executive Officer Eaman Al-Roudhan was featured among the region’s 50 most inspiring women leaders’ list for the second consecutive year. The listing was announced by Arabian Business, the region’s premier business magazine, to highlight Al-Roudhan’s pivotal role in cementing Zain’s position as one of the most leading and innovate digital enablers in the Kuwaiti market.

Arabian Business, one of the region’s most reputable business magazines, presents this annual list to shed light on the top female leaders whom efforts contribute to the progress and growth of the most vital industries in the Middle East and North Africa markets.

Eaman Al-Roudhan was featured in this list for the second consecutive year to shed light on the pivotal role she played in putting forth and executing Zain’s comprehensive digital transformation strategy, entering the 5G era, empowering business sectors, strategically partnering with the public sector under the New Kuwait 2035 vision, enabling SMEs, and other strategic roadmaps that cemented the company’s position as one of the Kuwaiti private sector’s biggest leaders in the past years. Every year, Arabian Business recognizes the Middle East’s most inspiring female businesswomen who create an impact, use their influence and experience, and show ambition to make their mark in the region’s markets. The magazine selects 50 business leaders from tens of thousands of deserving individuals, including entrepreneurs, NGO directors, and top executives from across industries and sectors.

Al-Roudhan was appointed CEO of Zain Kuwait in December 2015. A results-focused telecommunications executive, Al-Roudhan has over 26 years of experience spent in various executive management and leadership roles within Zain Kuwait as well as several Zain Group affiliates. Prior to her appointment as CEO, Al-Roudhan was the Chief Regulatory Officer of Zain Group.

Al-Roudhan’s successful career at Zain started in the Kuwait operation, where she launched the first mobile prepaid service in the country and the region, which went on to dominate the country’s mobile services customer base. As Zain expanded across the region, Al-Roudhan’s responsibilities also grew from 2003 onwards as she was an active participant in the start-up teams in several Zain operations across the Middle East, namely Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.

Al-Roudhan continued to play a key role in the transformation of Zain, building operational teams and establishing solid foundations for business units across all major telecommunications sectors including Intelligent Networks, product & service development, strategy and business planning, roaming, wholesale and carrier business, as well as regulatory affairs. After assuming the role of CEO in December 2015, Al-Roudhan led a number of vital projects that shaped a new period in Zain’s history, most notably the commercial launch of fifth generation wireless technology (5G) in June 2019, where Zain became the first operator to offer 5G technology in the GCC region via the Kuwaiti market with nationwide coverage. In addition, Al-Roudhan led the signing of the smart meters project with the Ministry of Electricity and Water, which is considered one of the largest projects in Kuwait’s ICT sector and proved to be a testament to the country’s efforts to catalyze the uptake of e-government services and digital transformation. Throughout her years at Zain, she has also orchestrated numerous strategic alliances with international and regional operators, lead teams and developed resources across technology, commercial, strategy, wholesale, and regulatory affairs.

Al-Roudhan is a member in a number of international standards and regulatory affairs bodies such as the GSMA Arab World regional interest group and the GSMA Chief Regulatory Officer Group (CROG). She holds a BSc in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering from Kuwait University and has attended programs at Tokyo Institute of Technology (TIT) and executive programs at Harvard Business School. Al-Roudhan is also currently a member of the Advisory Board at the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS).