Rola Abu Manneh

Rola Abu Manneh is the Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered in the UAE, Middle East, and Pakistan. She is the first Emirati woman to head an international bank in the UAE and the wider region and has successfully managed to transform the UAE business into one of the top markets for the Standard Chartered Group.

In early 2023, Rola joined as a Director on the Boards of both Standard Chartered (Pakistan) Limited and Standard Chartered Uganda. Rola is also on the Boards of Global Digital Assets Fund, MyZoi and Appro, all of which are digital ventures launched through the SCB subsidiary, SC Ventures. In 2021, Rola became a member of the Board of Directors of Make-A-Wish Foundation UAE and the Dubai International Chamber, whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai.

Over the years, Rola has championed women empowerment and female entrepreneurship through different initiatives and is committed to supporting the wider community by providing university students with mentorship programmes, in collaboration with leading partners, which aim to prepare participants with the necessary skills to succeed in their chosen professions. Rola is a member of the Global Council for Sustainable Development Goal 5 - Gender Equality (‘SDG5’); a UAE delegate in G20Empower; and a member of the NYUAD Vice Chancellor’s Leadership Council.

In 2024, as a testament to her efforts, Rola was listed in a number of prestigious Arabian Business lists; ‘Most Inspiring Leaders’, ‘Most Influential Arabs’ and ‘50 Inspiring Women Leaders’. In 2023 and 2022 Rola was recognised as ‘one of the most powerful and influential’ ‘Women Business Leaders’ in the region by Arabian Business. In 2021, Rola was awarded Banking Leader of the Year at the Gulf Business Awards and, for the past five consecutive years, Rola has been featured as one of the ‘Middle East’s Power Businesswomen’ by Forbes Middle East.

Rola completed her studies at the University of London – Royal Holloway and Bedford New College and holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Operational Research. She is fluent in Arabic and English and is married with two children.