Bodour Al Qasimi
Founder, PublisHer;
CEO-Founder, Kalimat;
Immediate Past President, International Publishers Association.
Sheikha Bodour is Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and President of American University of Sharjah where she oversees the institution’s mission of contributing to Sharjah’s socio-economic, workforce, and innovation priorities. She is forging deeper university-industry R&D and commercialization collaboration as Chairperson of the Board and President of the Sharjah Research, Technology, and Innovation Park, a $150 million initiative to position Sharjah as a global leader in emerging technology fields.
As Chairperson of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, Sheikha Bodour has mobilized more than $4 billion in foreign direct investment, created more than 20,000 jobs and contributed to a 78 percent growth in Sharjah’s gross domestic product. Her work as Chairperson of Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) has supported 150 startups that have raised $128 million in investment and created 1,400 jobs.
Sheikha Bodour also serves as Chairperson of Sharjah Book Authority, which manages the Sharjah International Book Fair, the world’s largest book fair, and operates Sharjah Publishing City, the world’s first free trade zone for publishing. Sheikha Bodour established the Emirates Publishers Association, UAE Board on Books for Young People, and Knowledge Without Borders to boost the growth of the UAE’s $300+ million publishing sector.
She founded Kalimat Publishing Group, a global, multi-imprint publishing and edtech company, and she served as the International Publishers Association’s second-ever female and first-ever Arab President. She is also the founder of PublisHer, a 1,000+ member global community of female publishing leaders addressing publishing’s diversity and inclusion challenges.