Education is the magic of my success, because of my education, I differentiate myself among other women in Qatar,” says Buthaina Hassan Al-Ansari. She added “Education helped me to be a good speaker a good panellist. If you have strong Education and you are able to utilise it at the write place and time; it is the only weapon which will never make you lose a battle that you will enter.” She is the Chairman Advisor of her family Business Just Real Estate. She is a key driving force behind strategic and operational effectiveness for some of Qatar’s leading industries.
Buthaina Hassan Al-Ansari is steering Just Real Estate towards achieving its goals in supporting Qatar’s economic diversification, advising the company and its visionary chairman on issues of marketing, sales strategies and top line structure. Her experience prior to being appointed as the Chairman Advisor, has seen her assume senior leadership roles within organizations such as Qatar Investment Authority and Ooredoo, among others.
“Don’t be just an individual who carried tow number in her life.”
Education is the Key
Holding a Doctorate of Business Administration from Nottingham Trent University-UK 2019 along with the Master’s Degree in Strategic Planning and Human Resources, Al-Ansari brings with her a wealth of proficiency, experience and an expansive career that stretches more than 13 years. With Al-Ansari working across education, finance, and telecommunications, prior to joining one of Qatar’s leading real estate consultancies. During this period, she has honed her skills in training and staff development programs, strategic planning, while steering decisive HR strategies in areas including recruitment policies, quality procedures and discipline and grievance.
Al-Ansari asserts “My secret weapon is my education because it exposed me to many things and different cultures.” Education and stability in the family is important to have a healthy environment. The culture: and environment at home arc extremely important. Surrounding oneself with positive people is important. Competition today is no longer typical competition; it is a war over cultural mindsets, not weapons. “We have to build up knowledge and religion, and all this starts at school. Education, the environment at home, and schools should under-stand the new era of the world” she added.
Giving HR Sector a New Direction
As the Acting Human Resources Director at the Qatar Investment Authority, Al-Ansari tasked with revising the company’s salary and grading structure, as well as developing and redesigning a Qatarization Strategy and Graduates Program, ensuring that the company was best positioned to support the future Qatari leaders of tomorrow. She also established a NH Digest magazine to help training and recruiting companies with 14 R and the Qatarization and nationalization strategy. She wanted to raise the profile of training companies.
Al-Ansari also wrote about her experience developing the Qatarization and nationalization strategy and how can one can develop and convert HH from operations to strategic partners in companies. This was her vision when she developed the IIR magazine because she found a lack of knowledge and experience in executing the new HR. Companies were still stuck in old HR styles that only dealt with employee issues. In this new era, HR departments must be a business partner with the company and also protect employees’ rights. She wants to convert Hit from a cost center to a profit generating center because one can contribute to society when they are extremely advanced in terms of development programs.
Empowering Women
As a strong advocate of Qatarization and women in business, Al-Ansari was a key personality behind the development of Qatar’s first International Women’s Day. Tamkeen, it is a company that deals with building skills for both genders. Back in 2010, Al-Ansari came to her boss while she was in charge of the Human resources as an Executive director, and said she wanted to celebrate women international day. He replied what??? Al-Ansari replied with well-prepared answers. Even, when she left the company she continued to have these programs with different companies as well individuals to empower women for leadership positions in the organizations and increase women percentage within the C suite -level. She came with an idea called “Detox your life” and started conference in Qatar. It included workshops, international speakers, fashion show, and real estate investment experts to teach them how to invest their money where and how; each year on March with attendance of more than 400 ladies in Qatar.
Al-Ansari opines “There are a lot of definitions of the women empowerment. It depends on how you want to empower women. From my end, I would say building her knowledge, enhance her ability and skills, provide her with a vision and realistic objective that she can achieve with the positive mind-set, and respecting that she is the other half of the society together with the other half who is her partner and his success.”
In addition, she said, “In my whole career I want to say that we are not enemies of the other gender we are complete by each other. Together we can do miracles in different ways but as a women we need love, respect and believe in our ability.”
The Qatari National is a published author, with the most notable being ‘Qatari Women before and after Oil and Gas’ and ‘Sheroes’. Her contribution to Qatari society has also resulted in her being named among the ‘100 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East’ and crowned ‘Business Women of the Year’ by Arabian Business magazine.
Wielding with Global Leader Traits
Al-Ansari has also undertaken high-profile speaking opportunities on the global stage, representing the State of Qatar during the Entrepreneur Forum in London, Entrepreneur Presidential Summit in the US, and the Investment Forum in New York. She has also been appointed as a Judge at the Qatar Foundation’s popular edutainment reality program, Stars of Science competition, conducted by Qatar Foundation popular edutainment reality program.
Al-Ansari also recognized as one of the 100 most-powerful Arab women by Arab Business magazine in 2012 and 2013. On this achievement she says “The award is all about one’s achievements, and I was winking to support women. I faced many challenges, obstacles and barriers with supervisors and bosses because of their mindset. They did not want women to compete with them as they were raised this way. I was doing a great deal of work in support of women in terms of developing their knowledge, skills, and capabilities.” She developed a magazine called Qatariat to highlight different women and their achievements in society so they can grow their business and networks via her magazine. Then, she joined the private sector. And she found the don people who believed in her, and they promoted her and gave her huge opportunities in Ooredoo.
Al-Ansari further added “I subsequently left the company and continued with my Pha. I also joined my brothers’ tympany to handle all the operation in the corn Pany as well as part of the VIP sales team because of my networking contacts.” She published the books Memos in Arabic and English and Qatari Women lieforelgrer Oil and GM.
“We inherited the knowledge and education from the past generations so women heir% successful is not new,” she says. These books highlight the successes of Qatari women to expats. During the blockade, she published another book highlighting how they were stronger than the blockade because of the strong infrastructure in Qatar.
A Future with Hope and Success
Al-Ansari stated “I will continue to support women and promote digital reading in Qatar. I also plan to hold conferences and move I-1H Digest online.” There is still a big need in HR, especially for new HR processes. She wants to promote entrepreneurship and for that focus on retail businesses like burgers, cafes, clothes, and others is not enough but also technology also plays crucial part. Sheikha Mon started 10 years ago with the Technology Oasis at the Qatar Foundation. She was adopting stars of science from the entire Arab world. “I would also like to do a comic hook talking about teenage issues with a central character that will come up with solutions to the problems teens face” says Al- Ansari.
