Regional Faces Make it to the BoF500 List

Online portal Business of Fashion, an essential daily read for fashion creatives, executives and entrepreneurs all over the world, revealed it's yearly BoF 500 list, a professional index of the people shaping the global fashion industry, based on hundreds of nominations received from members of last year’s BoF 500, data analysis and research to unearth names from all corners of the globe.

Of course there were some regular names that made the list last and this year like Anna Wintour, Tommy Ton, and  Dirk Standen (Style.com's editor-in-chief), but as a Middle eastern, I was interested to find out who made the cut from our region, starting with my hometown Kuwait:

• Mohammed Alshaya, Executive Chairman, Alshaya Group
• Noor Al Sabah, Fashion Director, AlOthman & Tabiat Fashion Co.  and co-founder of ecru
• Najla Maatouk, founder of Al Ostoura

UAE:

• Khalid Al Tayer, CEO of Al Tayer group which owns Harvey Nichols Dubai and Luxury brands such as Balenciaga
• Patrick Challhoub, CEO of Challhoub group which operates LV, Chanel and Diot

Saudi Arabia:

• Deena Abduaziz, owner of multi brand boutique DNA
• Reema Bandar Al Saud, CEO of ALFA International which operations Harvey Nichols Riyadh
• Sheikh Abdullah Binzagr, President of Rubaiyat which owns the distribution rights for luxury brands such as Bottega Veneta, Kenzo, Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana, within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Qatar

• Ahmad Al Sayad, CEO of Qatar Investment Sovereign Wealth Fund, which oversees some $60 billion worth of investments including Harrods, Tiffany, and LVMH. 
• Wissam Al Mana, Managing Director of Al Mana Retail Co. which has licenses and franchises for Balenciaga, Giorgio Armani, Hermès, Roberto Cavalli, Dior Homme, Alexander McQueen, Sonia Rykiel and Agent Provocateur. According to the site Wissam is also a shareholder in Saks Fifth Avenue stores in Dubai, Bahrain, Doha AND Kuwait. That means we should expect Saks to open in Kuwait very very soon! 360 Mall maybe? The article also mentioned that "Al Mana is married to Janet Jackson." When was the wedding??!!

Egypt

• Susan Sabet, Owner of Pashion fashion magazine. taking a mental note to check out the magazine next time I go to the supermarket.

Lebanon, the one with the highest number of names mentioned, ain't that cool?! 

• Desiree Sadek, Editor-in-Chief Elle Oriental magazine. I must check it out more often, only read it once
• Elie Saab and Rabih Kayrouz: designers with true talents and dressed many celebrities and royals. I personally favor Rabih Kayrouz's designs and his ability to present us with something new and lust-worthy every season. Not to mention his initiative to nurture young and raw talents through his beirut-based concept store Starch.
• Razane Jammal, Actress and one of Chanel's brand ambassadors. I haven't heard of her yet but it was interesting to find out about her. Apparently she's co-starring with Laim Neeson in a new movie. We'll wait and see. 
• Tony Salame, Chariman and CEO of mono-brand store for Zegna and Gucci.