Dr. Hessa Al Jaber will represent Qatar on Volkswagen board

There are very few Qatari women in top leadership roles, but even among them, Dr. Hessa Al Jaber certainly stands out.

A former Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Dr. Hessa is about to take a big stride in the corporate landscape.

On Tuesday, Reuters cited a close source as saying that the oil-rich kingdom, which holds a 17 percent stake in Volkswagen, will nominate Dr. Hessa for a seat on the board.

She will be the first woman to represent Qatar on the supervisory board of an international group.

Germany introduced gender quotas at the beginning of 2016, requiring blue-chip companies to increase female representation on non-executive boards.

With Dr. Hessa joining the Volkswagen board, the company will meet a legal quota for women board members ahead of a key shareholder meeting on June 22.

Dr Hessa, an engineer who studied at the Kuwait University and George Washington University, where she studied for her PhD, will be replacing Akbar Al Baker, the high-profile CEO of Qatar Airways, who has been on the supervisory board for only a year.

According to Volkswagen, Al Baker had failed to attend a number of supervisor board meetings.

Dr. Hessa has led many initiatives to make Qatar a more inclusive society through ictQATAR. She has been instrumental in streamlining processes to make the government more transparent and accessible to citizens.

She is also considered an expert on strategies for driving growth and innovation by embracing the digital economy.

The news of the appointment comes amidst reports that all is not well with Qatar and Volkswagen.

Qatar is the company’s third largest shareholder after Porsche and the State of Lower Saxony, and it has been trying to get access to the automobile giant’s steering committee, where major decisions are made.

Qatar’s moves did not receive a warm welcome across the board.

Moreover, the oil-rich kingdom was hit hard and lost billions last year as shares of Volkswagen plunged massively due to its emission- rigging scandal.