Press

With her trademark blonde hair and immaculately applied lipstick, Dr Nahed Taher looks nothing like a stereotypical banker or economist — much less one from Saudi Arabia. Despite being born in a country known for its strict Islamic regulations, the Jeddah-based businesswoman has been breaking with convention even since she left her position as chief economist at National Commercial Bank (NCB) to set up her own investment bank. “When I worked at NCB I had a big opportunity t

Oct. 31 (Bloomberg) -- “Do you mind working with men?” Nahed Taher recalls being asked before taking a job as the only woman amid 4,000 male employees at Saudi Arabia’s largest lender, National Commercial Bank. Less than four years later, the Saudi-born Taher, 43, became the first Arab woman to set up a bank, and the only woman in the Persian Gulf to run one -- Gulf One Investment Bank, which is gathering $10 billion for infrastructure projects and doubled first-half profit