8X8 WOMEN - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Founder
• First Instructor for the Art

IMAN MUTLAQ, a dynamic leader and expert in financial markets, was born in Saudi Arabia. She's a strong-willed character. She has never let her circumstances define her, and thus she erased all the negative voices off her mind. Challenges were always welcome to her, she was totally convinced that life is a daring adventure, in which we have to face and overcome our challenges instead of surrendering to them. As a single mother, Mutlaq was able to move forward independently, raising her two sons to see them all grown up, mature, and become successful young men. Although she had to delay her undergraduate studies to manage her responsibilities, her belief that it's never too late to pursue your goals in life and achieve your dreams made her return strongly, and she successfully completed an MBA in finance and most recently her Chief Financial Analyst level one examination. Mutlaq has always been an enthusiast young lady, that at the age of 14 she started selling arts and crafts at school. Quick to realize her skill, she moved on to establish her first export-import company at 18 and by 27, she entered the financial world. Mutlaq finds that her strengths lie in analyzing and interpreting financial market trends to build appropriate investment strategies. Her strong technical and analytical skills have helped numerous investors accumulate wealth. She currently serves as CEO of Sigma Investments, Director of INGOT Brokers, a consortium of multinational financial companies that operate across six continents, and she is also part of the Global Alliance Partners, a network of regulated financial services companies focusing on the capital midmarket. According to Forbes- September 2016, Ms. Mutlaq is considered one of the business pioneers in the Middle East; she is ranked the 32nd among the best Business women in the Arab world, she won the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo (AMCham) Award as the best Arab business woman - March 2016.

Job Titles:

• Member of the Steering Committee

Dr. Nisreen Al-Otaibi's extensive experience includes building an organization and comprehensive team of professionals from the bottom up to tackle international and local projects relating to empowerment, mental health and social entrepreneurship. She has served as the Director of Woman Empowerment in Iraq, developed and executed mentoring skills training programs for Ana Hunna, assisted as a project consultant for Pearson and AdvancED and serves as the President of the Cerebral Palsy Foundation Jordan. Dr. Al-Otaibi leadership and experience in the field of social work is composed of over 15 years of dedication to youth, family and women empowerment. In 1998, when Nisreen, then a young mother of three, found herself in a challenging situation; trying to raise her children in a country who's culture was being modernized by the day, but trying to keep her own traditions intact. After completing her bachelor's degree at the University of Jordan, and in her various attempts at trying to understand her children, Nisreen pursued the Montessori diploma, which held the principles that education should help the individual from birth and protect his environment. In 2005, once Nisreen started to believe in the importance of a mother's knowledge, she pursued a Masters degree in Educational Psychology, followed by a PhD in counseling psychology. After earning both degrees, Nisreen realized that there was a gap in our society, and a problem that needed to be addressed; people were unaware of how important nurture is in the shaping of one's identity. Nisreen found it very useful to share her acquired knowledge, and decided to start Irshad Center. To try to fill in that gap, Nisreen found a comprehensive team of professionals that were keen on fixing the obstacles that families across the country have been facing. Irshad's uniqueness lies in the fact that it is not just an ordinary clinic, it is a community of individuals, families, and goal setters, with a founding mother who shares the same experiences as every other mother trying to raise her children in an ever-changing environment. Determined to turn her vision of a new generation that has a unique identity and a balance between tradition and advancement, into a reality, Nisreen thought it best to expand her dream from focusing on the individual, to focusing on the community as a whole. Branching out from simple counseling services, Nisreen aimed at training the individual to becoming the best version of himself, and setting him out into society as an improved human being that has the qualities it takes to inflict change into his community.

Job Titles:

• Chief Executive Officer ( CEO ) of the American Chamber of Commerce

With more than 24 years of experience in leadership positions in both corporate and NGO. Alissi is currently the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan (AmCham-Jordan). Alissi helped AmCham-Jordan in solidifying the organization's presence within Jordan building on the previous success of the organization. Prior to Ms. Alissi's current position, Rose held multiple appointments from Vice President at Jordan Dubai Capital and General Manager of International Fairs Promotion (IFP) of Jordan, a trade promotion company. Alissi worked as the National Program Coordinator of the Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) and Expand Your Business (EYB) Programs, an (ILO) and (UNDP) SME Development program. Alissi also worked as a consultant for the USAID/ Tourism development project for 3 years in addition to other business development and policy consultancy. A social entrepreneur, Alissi served on international and local NGO boards such as Operation Smile and Save the Children. Educationally, Alissi has a Bachelor's and Master's Degree from the University of Jordan, in addition to on-campus studies in Law, UNICTAD's capacity-building, Empretec Entrepreneurship training program, and the Certified Association Executive (CAE) training with the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) based in Washington, D.C.