7 Kuwaitis on Forbes' List of Most Powerful CEOs
As part of its annual list, Forbes magazine selected Essam Al-Saqer, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank of Kuwait Group, as the most powerful CEO in the banking sector, within its annual “Most Powerful CEOs in the Middle East 2026” list, which highlights 100 business leaders who head the largest and most influential companies in the region.
Al-Saqer also ranked third in the magazine’s ranking of the most powerful CEOs in the Middle East’s banking sector.
Forbes based its selection for the list on the achievements and performance of CEOs over the past year, as well as the innovations and initiatives they implemented, their impact on the region and the countries they operate in, the markets they oversee, and the size of the companies they lead.
The magazine also selected Khaled Yousef Al-Shamlan, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Finance House Group, as the most powerful CEO in Kuwait’s banking sector for 2026, within the aforementioned annual list.
This ranking serves as an affirmation of his leadership role in enhancing the position of Kuwait Finance House Group and achieving its outstanding financial and operational performance.
Al-Saud continues to maintain his place among the elite executive leaders in the region for the fourth consecutive year, retaining his position among the top 10 CEOs in the Middle East, an achievement that reflects the sustained leadership excellence and institutional impact achieved by Kuwait Petroleum Corporation at both the regional and international levels.
Forbes’ list includes an elite group of 102 business leaders from 21 countries, who lead the largest and most influential companies in the region.
The list also included Badr Nasser Al-Kharafi, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zain Group, who also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Stock Exchange, Injazat Kuwait, FOO Solutions, and TASC Towers, and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gulf Cable and Electrical Industries Group and National Investments Company. He also founded BNK Holding.
Adana Nasser Al-Sabah, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO), was also included in the main list. The company holds investments in the financial services, petrochemicals, food, media, real estate, education, healthcare, and logistics sectors, with more than 60 subsidiaries distributed across more than 24 countries.
Al-Sabah serves as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for OSN Group, the Kuwaiti Jordanian Bank, and United Education Company. She also founded the American University in Kuwait in 2003.
Forbes’ list also included Ahmed Al-Eidan, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), who assumed the role of CEO of KOC in 2022. The company’s main role is the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas within Kuwait.
The company expanded its non-associated gas production by operating the Jurassic 4 and 5 production facilities, each adding a production capacity of 160 million cubic feet of gas per day and 50,000 barrels per day of light oil.
KEO International Consultants. Sultan has worked with KEO International Consultants since 1985. She became Chief Executive Officer in 1991, and later assumed the position of President and Chief Executive Officer in 2016.
The company evolved from a single office into an international consulting firm with 14 offices in the Middle East and Europe, employing more than 2,700 staff members. In April 2026, KEO expanded into the data center sector to leverage its infrastructure capabilities, thereby enhancing its services for major cloud computing and data center companies in the Middle East.
