Non-profit REACH, has appointed Laudy Lahdo and Tara Rogers to its board with a vision to help develop the next generation of female professionals in the region
Lahdo and Rogers will join REACH’s four founding memebers, who established the organisation in 2013; the first non-profit organization to be incorporated in the DIFC.
REACH is dedicated to professional women mentoring and leadership in the Middle East.
The appointments follow strong end of year results in 2014, which saw the graduation of the first cohort of REACH mentees to complete the structured one-year mentoring programme that gave 25 female professionals access to business leaders across a number of sectors. This year sees a doubling of the registration, with 51 mentees paired with mentors for the 2016 programme.
Farah Foustok, founder of REACH and CEO of Lazard Gulf Limited said: “Having completed our first year with solid results and the opportunity to refine our strategy, we identified two specific areas requiring additional support. Laudy brings exceptional strategic planning and business development expertise to our capabilities, and Tara’s extensive marketing and communications experience across industry sectors will help us to amplify our efforts to the wider business community.”
Laudy Lahdo, GM, Servcorp Middle East said: “My passion for empowering women in business through mentoring is aligned with the value proposition and objectives of REACH. As an Arab woman, I am honoured to be appointed as a Board member, alongside the founders of REACH, a group of inspirational and highly successful women in business.”
Lahdo’s experience leading the growth of Servcorp across the Middle East over the past 12 years, provides an invaluable contribution to the development of the REACH strategy, including the expansion of the organisation’s remit beyond the UAE.
With more than 21 years’ experience in the Middle East, Tara Rogers has led teams and built businesses across a number of sectors. As a veteran in the communications industry, she was most recently recognised for her contribution to the development of professionals in the PR sector, receiving the Middle East PR Association Award for Visionary Leader 2015. Rogers’ role on the REACH Board will focus on communications strategy and the implementation of a sustained campaign across media and digital channels.