Nada Alawi

"Recognised at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Awards for Young Business Leaders as the Best Arab Start-up Business in the female category among other local and regional recognitions, Nada Alawi grew up loving fashion and appreciating art. In 2011, Nada founded “ANNADA”, a luxury lifestyle brand that transforms art into fashion accessories and apparel with her sister Noor Alawi in partnership with Middle Eastern artists. Annada prides itself on beautifully combining expression and heritage with the language of fashion. In 2016 Nada received the female entrepreneurship seal from Her Majesty Princess Sabeeka for her work in Annada and building this brand. Nada began her career in a world very different from fashion – the Oil and Gas industry in Houston, Texas, where she had also studied and gained an MBA. She worked with a firm specialising in oil drilling which stood her in good stead when she returned to the Gulf to start her family’s business “OSHO Centre” in occupational health and safety. Her entrepreneurial spirit helped the business win major contracts both in Bahrain and internationally. Besides her life as an entrepreneur, Nada is a former Board Member of the Bahrain Economic Development Board and prior to that, she led a number of key roles, most notably as a Board Member at Bahrain Bourse in addition to being the President of leading global NGO Rotary Club Bahrain. Nada is a highly motivated and passionate leader, with a love of art, fashion, luxury, and lifestyle. She is enthusiastic about creating emotion-evoking ideas and products. “I would like the world to be surrounded by beauty and happiness,” is Nada's motto. Her philosophy is simple: work hard, pass on happiness and enjoy what life has to offer."