GAWBL.connect – Virtual Meeting Series

Gabi brings 25 years of knowledge and working experience as a multi-award winning provider of training, coaching and consultancy with special focus on the Arab World, Diversity Management & Inclusion and Women & Leadership. Owner and Managing Director of CrossCultures, she has an academic background in Middle Eastern Studies and Diversity Management.
For more than 20 years Gabi has been strongly committed to the dialogue and network of German and Arab women leaders, having initiated in 2007 the first Arab-German Businesswomen Dialogue at the Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s annual Arab-German Business Forum, also partnering with the Arab International Women’s Forum (AIWF). In 2018 she organized and chaired the first German-Arab Women Business Leaders’ Summit (GAWBL-Summit 2018, www.gawbl-summit.com) held under the Patronage of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in cooperation with Ghorfa with more than 200 high-profile experts, leaders and decision-makers from Germany, Arab countries and the international community. Among its many initiatives, GAWBL has been setting up in 2019 the “Young Women Program”-Study Tour in cooperation with the Qatari Businesswomen Association. A tailor-made study trip for young female leaders from Qatar and Germany that connects and promotes young talent through exchange.
Gabi has been designing and facilitating workshops & events around the world supporting companies, institutions and organizations in implementing a more inclusive corporate culture, setting up diverse teams and working virtually together in a global work environment. She teaches Diversity Management at the University of Freiburg, mentors young female entrepreneurs and coaches individuals on career development, personal goal setting and resilience. Her intercultural business handbook on the Arab World has been ranked No. 5 of the top management books by The Financial Times. Her book on successful women in the Arab World set a milestone.
As a high impact coach and proven expert, she has been advising policy makers, business leaders and companies sharing her expertise and passion for building bridges and connecting people. Gabi has been awarded with the Global Diversity Leadership Award 2017, World Women Leadership Achievement Award 2015 and is a member of the Board of Directors of Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry since 2006 and a member of the Society for Intercultural Training and Research.

Sarah heads the positive impact management as well as the impact and sustainability disclosures across all funds advised by Finance in Motion, a global impact asset manager. All funds advised by Finance in Motion fall under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and pursue clear impact objectives - from climate change mitigation and sustainable use of natural resources, to biodiversity conservation and sustainable economic growth. Prior to joining Finance in Motion, Sarah managed rural development projects for at the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development.

I have over 20 years’ experience in finance since 1998. I worked in five different financial institutions namely Arab Bank, Blom Bank, Barclays Bank , Attijariwafa bank and recently joined Export Development Bank - EBE. I have diversified experience in the finance industry out of which five years in Retail Banking and twelve years in Corporate Banking. I covered various sectors starting from SMEs, Local Large Corporate, Public Sector and Multinational Corporates while gaining the expertise in different industries in the meantime . Since 2019, I was appointed as Strategic Planning Director at EBE.
I completed my Bachelor Degree with specialization in Economics and Business Administration from the American University in Cairo and graduated with Honors in 1997. in 2013, I completed my MBA degree from Edinburgh Business School ,Heriot-Watt University, UK.
Attended distinguished leadership courses such as I Lead (Barclays in-house course) in 2013 followed by Future Leaders at EBI in 2017.

Stephanie Petrick is seasoned impact investing expert and Senior Advisor Impact Investing at Phineo. She has more than 15 years of experience advising private investors, family offices, investment funds, foundations and international corporations in Europe and the US and led Phineo's impact investing division until 2020.
Previously, Stephanie Petrick worked for the German impact investing pioneer Impact in Motion, for Ashoka Germany and was Principal at L.E.K. Consulting, an international strategy consultancy. She is a graduate of the European School of Business in Reutlingen (D) and the Reims Management School (F) and holds a degree in Foundation Management from the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel (D).