Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, Founder and Chairman of the Arab International Women’s Forum, is well-known in international business and government circles as an influential leader vis-à-vis cultural and gender issues.

An economist and graduate of the American University of Beirut and Oxford University, Ms. Al Kaylani brings a wide range of skills and experience to her personal mission of encouraging leadership roles for women while promoting greater cultural understanding between Arab and international communities.

Ms. Al Kaylani holds senior positions in several organisations in the United Kingdom, as well as internationally, and is a board member for NGOs, cultural and educational institutions. She is the International Vice President of The Women's Leadership Board at Harvard University. Ms Al Kaylani serves as an Advisory Board Member for the University of London’s Middle East Institute, and the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World at the American University in Beirut.

In 2006, Ms. Al Kaylani was recognised as one of 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by Women’s eNews in New York, and in 2007 she received the Education Excellence Award. Ms. Al Kaylani has also received the 2008 World of Difference Lifetime Achievement Award presented by The International Alliance for Women. In 2009, Ms. Al Kaylani was named one of the 20 leading Muslim women in the United Kingdom by The Equality and Human Rights Commission, and in 2011 and 2012, as one of the hundred most powerful women in the Arab World by Arabian Business Monitor.