Alumna Lobna Helal Among Most Influential Women of 2018
The first woman ever appointed Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, and commemorated by Forbes Middle East, exemplifies female sway, influence, and brainpower.
Not only for women at the American University in Cairo, AUC Alumna Lobna Helal sets an example for all women across the region.
Forbes’s annual list considers the title, scope and impact of the women’s work, as well as the revenues of the companies they lead.
The accolade reflects the global recognition of not only the potential of Egyptian women, but also that of the Central Bank of Egypt and the Egyptian economy as a whole.
Helal first set foot at the Central Bank of Egypt in 2004, coming from the private sector with an investment banking background.
In November 2011, she was appointed Deputy Governor responsible for Monetary Stability, becoming the first female in the history of the CBE to assume this position.
“I attribute my success and accomplishments to the support of my husband and my family who helped me achieve the work life balance I needed to reach them, especially at the beginning of my career when my two children were very young,” Helal told The Caravan.
Ranked third on the list, Helal added, “I was privileged to receive guidance and mentoring from my Economics Professors, Adel Beshai and Heba Handoussa, as well as Political Science Professor, Tim Sullivan who saw my potential in both areas of Political Science as well as Economics and encouraged me to study both.”
Professor of Economics Adel Beshai told The Caravan, “Nothing is more fulfilling to a professor than seeing some of his students at the acme of success. I am proud of Lobna who was a shining student of mine.”
Beshai added that intellectual excellence alone is not sufficient to produce the level of recognition that Lobna achieved as personal attributes also play a role.
“Lobna is endowed with a varied charm of mind, and a truly challenging spirit. She is a lady who has confidence in herself. Confidence that is accompanied by a positive and unassuming personality. Imbued with a strong sense of purpose, motivation and affable manners, she is a success in leading teamwork,” said Beshai.
“I heartily congratulate her. I cannot hide my happiness at seeing such a distinguished lady serving her country, Egypt,” Beshai added.
Helal earned her Bachelor degree with a Major in Political Sciences and a Minor in Economics which later paved the way for her to earn a Master degree in Economics.
As a woman in a highly male-dominated industry, Helal affirmed that her journey had its fair share of challenges.
The support of leaders, such as Governor of CBE Tarek Amer and Former CBE Governor Farouk el Okda, who believe in empowerment and recognizing merit regardless of gender, helped lead her to where she is today.
Helal essentially noted that this recognition and the position came with a lot of responsibility.
“I see me being the first female Deputy Governor of the CBE as the starting point for many more to hold this role in the future,” said Helal.
“I am also aware that I may be looked at as a role model for women in the banking sector as well as women in leadership positions in Egypt. I therefore strive to make sure that Egypt’s image and that of Egyptian women is always professionally portrayed,” Helal added.
Helal is also focused on ensuring, within the CBE and the banking sector at large, a sustainable gender-sensitive culture and infrastructure.
Across all the financial inclusion initiatives Helal and her team are leading, they have created programs that benefit and empower women.
“By creating leadership programs aimed at developing a pool of women leaders who can assume authoritative positions, we will ensure their success as executives and solidify the place of women leaders in our economy,” said Helal.
“I also participate in several national and international forums and platforms where I work to raise awareness on the importance of women’s financial inclusion and empowerment,” added Helal.
Helal was also appointed as Vice Chair of the Gender and Women Financial Inclusion Committee of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, an institution aiming to enhance the financial services offered to less-privileged populations through empowering policymakers.
Consequently, promoting women’s leadership in senior positions within the banking sector came to be a top priority on Helal’s agenda.
Helal strongly believes that opportunities and structures need to be provided for women in this sector to rise up to their full potential.
With her rather abounding experience at AUC, Helal refers to the university as the building block to her academic and social acumen.
On the social and interpersonal front, despite having already been exposed to diversity at an early age in high school, Helal reasons her exposure augmented at AUC.
She shared that AUC was where she interacted with a myriad of students and professors from different cultures and different schools of thought.
“This played an integral part in broadening my perspective and understanding the importance of listening to and learning from others. I still follow this practice now in my professional approach towards exploring and learning from the experiences of other Central Banks, countries, and regional/international institutions,” explained Helal.
In a note sent out to the women of the American University in Cairo, Helal said, “Hold on to your right to choose, never go for anything unless you firmly believe in it. Your skills, efficiency, capabilities, and perseverance are your means of support to achieve your goals.”
