Changemakers: Sarah Al-Hajali

A learning curve that delivered her to London Business School’s Executive MBA in 2014: “I went to LBS to bridge the gaps in my finance and management skills, but I got far more out of the experience than I had bargained for. My MBA helped me develop a degree of creativity and critical thinking in my problem-solving. Most importantly, I developed the confidence and agility to lead my company in what I knew to be an ever-changing landscape.”

Under her leadership, CellSave Arabia has grown in recognition as a centre of excellence in stem-cell technology and remains the only private facility in the region licensed to collect, process, test and cryogenically store stem cells, samples of which have been released to create life-saving medical transplants.

Delivering and sustaining this kind of deep impact means maintaining a joint sense of passion and purpose, she says. Touching human lives is a motivation that keeps her grounded and inspired to strive for better solutions, better answers. Then there’s an openness to change and to technological innovation that is key to the success of her company and her leadership.

“I’m a scientist, a biotechnologist and a chemical engineer by education, and a businessperson by experience. I believe that, in my industry, you need to be all of those things to see the whole picture and you need to really preserve your curiosity, your appetite for the new and a capacity for risk-taking.

“Engineers and scientists are making some of the biggest advances in our society. They’re making medical breakthroughs, inventing some of the technologies that are changing our lives. It’s an enormously exciting space, with the potential to transform the human experience.”

That said, there’s still room for improvement. Engineering remains very much a “boys’ club” and women account for less than 15% of the professional talent. The lack of women in STEM education and careers reflects poorly on these professions, hampering diversity of perspective and input and leading to less-than-optimal results and impact. And it’s an issue that touches the Middle East in particular:

“Opportunities are increasing for women, but it’s been slow. Until recently in countries like Saudi Arabia, women were limited to working in healthcare, so you have a situation where half of the population is effectively paralysed professionally. Things are definitely improving with recent changes and I welcome that, but I do believe as a woman and a leader that we have a real responsibility to help women advance, especially in male-dominated fields.”

In 2016 Al-Hajali joined investment firm Myrisoph Capital as Partner and VP Strategy, Marketing. Founded by LBS graduates, the firm invests in projects with the potential to impact communities and human lives in the long term. She focuses on the health sector and takes a particular interest in ventures led by women.

“It’s been my long-standing ambition to work more with female entrepreneurs in my sector and within this region and to play my part in supporting women and helping to build a pipeline of role models in STEM. I want to get the message out there loud and clear that there’s nothing inherently ‘male’ about engineering.”

Women should never doubt themselves in their field, says Al-Hajali. Nor should they believe that the only route to success is through compromise or corporate burnout.

Her own trajectory has been undergirded by a balance between the personal and professional – and a refusal to sacrifice one for the other: “I would urge other women to strive for that kind of balance. And in their careers to be ceaselessly curious and on the lookout for novel ways of solving old problems, capturing knowledge wherever and whenever it comes, and really thinking about what success means. What society deems successful, and the routes to becoming successful, might not be the same for every individual. My advice is to find your own equation.”

Sarah Al-Hajali graduated from the EMBA programme in 2016