KUWAIT: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, announced that Chief Executive Officer Eaman Al-Roudhan was featured among the region's 50 most inspiring female business leaders for the year 2022. The list was announced by Arabian Business magazine, the region's premier resource for informed news, features, and commentary on business and regional markets.

This listing from one of the Middle East's leading reputable business magazines came to shed light on the role played by Al-Roudhan in leading Zain towards being one of the Kuwaiti private sector's biggest leaders during the past period, especially her efforts in putting forth and implementing the company's comprehensive digital transformation strategy that aims at empowering a more efficient business sector in the nation under the New Kuwait 2035 vision.

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.

Eaman Al-Roudhan was appointed CEO of Zain Kuwait in December 2015. A results-focused telecommunications executive, Al-Roudhan has over 25 years of experience spent in various executive management and leadership roles within Zain Kuwait as well as several Zain Group affiliates. Prior to her new appointment, 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.

Eaman 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).

Al-Roudhan was recently ranked as one of the most powerful businesswomen in the Middle East in 2021 by Forbes Middle East, as well as one of the most powerful women in Kuwait in the magazine's special issue to celebrate Kuwait's Success entitled "A New Vision" for 2017.