Soulaima Gourani
Soulaima Gourani (born 1975) is a Danish Moroccan CEO, corporate advisor and writer who lives in Palo Alto, California.
Early life and education[edit]
Soulaima was born in Safi, Morocco, in 1975 but moved to Denmark shortly after with her parents.[1] Gourani grew up in different small towns in Jutland, where she struggled to fit in as she was the only one with an exotic name and a darker skin color.[1] She was told by her teachers that she shouldn't expect to achieve much in life because of her gender, skin colour, and name.[1] She decided to move out at the age of 13.[1]
She has continued educating herself by completing several courses at international universities, including: The Global Leadership and Public Policy in the 21st Century at Harvard University (2014), Innovations and Lessons from Emerging Markets, A South Asia Perspective at the Indian School of Business (ISB).[2][3][4] Later she chose to take an MBA at Copenhagen Business School.[5]
Career[edit]
Soulaima Gourani has been employed in international companies such as A.P. Møller Maersk Group and Hewlett-Packard.[6] In 2007 she was fired whilst pregnant and to make a living she set up her own business, Soulaima Art, which offers lectures and counselling.[5][7] Since then she has developed her business and is also an investor and author of the books; "Ignite your career", "Take control of your career", and "Courage to success".[5]
Soulaima Gourani is on a number of boards, including Global Dignity, whose Danish organization she founded in 2012.[8] On November 1, 2016, she joined Global Dignity's'. Global Executive Board in New York and The Miracle Foundation. She is a member of the jury of Global Teacher Prize and appointed an Expert in Behavioural Sciences Education and Skills for the World Economic Forum.[9] Gourani has also taught at Global Entrepreneurship at Harvard University.[3]
Honors and Awards
In 2010 Gourani was nominated as one of the best Danish keynote speakers by One2Speak.[10] In 2012 she was announced as one of the Young Global Leaders by World Economic Forum and later that year named to be the chairwoman of the non-profit organisation Global Dignity.[11][12] In 2013 she was announced as one of the greatest thinkers in the Nordic by Nordic Business Forum and in 2014 chosen as one of the "40 under 40" European young leaders.[13][14] In 2015 she received the ”Womenomics Influencer Award”.[15] She was elected as a TED mentor in 2016 and was later that year announced as one of the "Inspiring 50 Nordics" women in the tech-sector and a UN Women Ambassador Advisor.[16] In 2018 she was appointed to Jury of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year. Gourani’s story was included in the Danish biographical dictionary Kraks Blå Bog.[17]
In public debate
Gourani is an active debater on TV and radio. She has appeared in various radio debate programs and in a TV program exploring some of society's immigration challenge.[18][19] She is often interviewed about her own experiences as a professional business woman and brought in as an expert career advisor for entrepreneurs and professionals worldwide.[20][21][22] She is currently a columnist at two Danish national newspapers, Jyllandsposten.dk and Berlingske.dk.[23][24]
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References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "Klumme af Soulaima Gourani: Jeg er stolt af mine rødder". Samvirke.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Fairygodboss Of The Week: Soulaima Gourani | Fairygodboss". Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ a b "Lunch Seminar: Making a Mark and Achieving Your Highest Potential in the Development Sector". growthlab.cid.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Soulaima Gourani - SheSource Expert - Women's Media Center". www.womensmediacenter.com. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ a b c "Ignite Your Career The New Grads Bible". bookboon.com. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Authors". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ Sun, Carolyn (2018-06-26). "EQ Experts Tell Entrepreneurs to Do These 4 Things to Stay Relevant and Be an Effective Leader". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Soulaima bliver protektor for Global Dignity | global-dignity1". global-dignity1 (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ MaleneKirk (2017-04-03), Dansk: Expert in Behavioural Sciences Education and Skills to the World Economic Forum, retrieved 2018-08-23
- ^ "Vinderne 2010 er nu fundet! | One2speak Foredrag - Rådgivning af fore…". archive.is. 2013-07-01. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Welcome to the Young Global Leaders Class of 2012". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Board of Directors | Global Dignity". Global Dignity. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ Siefen, Hans-Peter (2013-08-16). "Nordic Thinkers 20 – the Greatest Business Thinkers of the Nordics - Nordic Business Forum". Nordic Business Forum. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "40UNDER40 – EUROPEAN YOUNG LEADERS » 2014". 40under40.eu. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "TED Talks Mentor". www.soulaimagourani.dk. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Inspiring Fifty: Nordics 2016 - Inspiring fifty". Inspiring fifty. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Årets nyoptagne | Kraks Blå Bog". www.blaabog.dk. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "P1 Debat: Obama - succes eller fiasko? | P7 Mix | DR". Radio | DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Søndagsfrokosten: Er nej'et folkestyrets fallit? | P4 Syd | DR". Radio | DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Asger og de nye danskere". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "6 women on how they deal with sexism and discrimination at work". Fast Company. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "6 ways to be more memorable when networking | Forbes India". Forbes India. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Kommentar: Lad os belønne dem, der forebygger eget helbred". Retrieved 2018-08-23.
- ^ "Soulaima Gourani | Nyheder og seneste nyt fra Berlingske - www.b.dk". www.b.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 2018-08-23.
External links[edit]
Media related to Soulaima Gourani at Wikimedia Commons