Rola Abu Manneh is the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank UAE, a role she has held since August 2018. She was the first Emirati woman to head a bank in the UAE. In her role, Rola has been responsible for transforming the UAE business into one of the biggest five markets for the Standard Chartered Group. Before joining Standard Chartered Bank, Rola was the Head of Corporate & Investment Banking for Abu Dhabi at First Abu Dhabi Bank. Over the years, Rola has championed women empowerment and female entrepreneurship through different initiatives and is committed to supporting the wider community through the Bank and external Partners. As a testament to her efforts, in 2022 Rola was recognised as ‘one of the most powerful and influential’ in the ‘Women Business Leaders – Middle East List ’ by Arabian Business. In 2021, Rola was awarded Banking Leader of the Year at the Gulf Business Awards and, for the past three consecutive years, Rola has been featured as one of the ‘Middle East’s Power Businesswomen’ by Forbes Middle East. In 2021, Rola became a member of the Board of Directors of the Dubai International Chamber, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai.