Middle East's Most Influential Business Leaders to Watch in 2026
- Irina Duisimbekova
- Dec 1, 2025
- 5 min read
The Middle East continues to stand at the crossroads of innovation, transformation, and global influence, driven not only by visionary governments and ambitious national strategies, but by the remarkable leaders shaping the region’s next chapter. The individuals featured in Middle East’s Most Influential Business Leaders to Watch in 2026 represent the diverse, high-impact minds redefining industries, creating opportunities, and setting new standards for excellence across the Gulf and beyond.
From pioneering artificial intelligence ecosystems to reshaping global investment flows, from elevating regional art and sustainability to transforming infrastructure, talent, and digital commerce, each leader in this edition brings a distinct voice, a powerful journey, and a deep commitment to progress.
In these pages, readers will meet global infrastructure expert Patrick Reilly, whose four-decade career continues to shape mega and giga-projects across continents; e-commerce and retail transformation leader Joumana Richa, driving multi-category growth and innovation in Qatar; and acclaimed filmmaker and digital education advocate Kanza Zia, empowering women through storytelling and digital entrepreneurship.
We further present communication strategist Fiona Garfagnini, who is redefining personal branding and influence in the UAE; investment powerhouses Alexandre Katrangi & Irina Duisimbekova, steering billion-dollar cross-border ventures; and artistic director Marita Setas Ferro, whose work in fine craft and sustainability is influencing cultural conversations across the region.
This feature also includes interior design entrepreneurs Amos and Priya Antin, whose brand aCross designs is reshaping the home-renovation landscape in the UAE; transformation and shared-services expert Eslam Atteya, advancing organizational excellence at PwC Middle East; and AI transformation leader Lisa Warren, whose work at Neural Horizons AI is guiding companies through the next digital era.
Equally compelling is Jürgen Brixel, the mind behind LuxAIaaS, building the next generation of conversational AI systems in alignment with the UAE’s AI 2031 vision; marketing strategist Neethu Paul, bridging global brand strategy with Middle Eastern cultural intelligence; and regional talent leader Sabeen Javed, who is redefining the future of recruitment, inclusion, and representation in the technology sector.
Together, these leaders reflect the region’s extraordinary momentum, its creativity, ambition, and relentless drive toward innovation. Each profile offers a window into a story of resilience, purpose, and transformation. Whether advancing AI, sustainability, infrastructure, the arts, talent, investment, or digital commerce, these individuals are shaping what the Middle East will become in 2026 and well beyond.
As you explore their journeys, achievements, and visions for the future, we invite you to take inspiration from their leadership. Their stories remind us that progress is never accidental, it is built by people who dare to imagine, to lead, and to transform.
Dive into the full feature to discover the voices, ideas, and innovators defining the Middle East’s future.
Alexandre Katrangi & Irina Duisimbekova, Influential Business Leaders of the Middle East 2026
In a world driven by innovation and cross-border collaboration, Alexandre Katrangi and Irina Duisimbekova stand as two of the Middle East’s most dynamic and influential business leaders into the Investments sphere. Together, they represent the power of visionary entrepreneurship shaped by experience and direct investments realised through joint ventures in the GCC; trust, and a shared pursuit of progress. As partners steering Licorne Gulf Investment Holding, a single-family office with deep roots across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Switzerland, and the UK, they have created a global investment ecosystem bridging energy, defense, healthcare, aviation, and emerging technologies.
2024 had seen an impressive 575M USD investments realised through their Family holding Licorne Gulf and 2025 keeps the same pace with already Q4 nearly closing at 490 M USD confirmed investments and syndication for their ventures; along with several industrial projects implemented in the GCC region and successful reverse mergers on the Nasdaq and Euronext.
Major achievements in 2025 had been 3 defense contracts of multi millions USD within semi-assembly industrial off-set made in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with large European, CHinese and Turkish defense companies as well as the investment in Choiseul Arabian Gulf, a branch JV of Institut Choiseul from France being the largest European Think Tank and Public Affairs firm.
With over twenty-seven years of international experience, Alexandre Katrangi a French-Syrian-Saudi origin entrepreneur has cultivated a remarkable legacy as a serial entrepreneur and investor whose career spans Fortune 500 corporations, sovereign funds, and royal family offices across the Gulf. His journey began with extensive involvement in the oil, gas, and energy sectors, and defense, fields in which he has become a trusted specialist known for his ability to build strategic partnerships and mobilize capital syndications for high-value projects. As Associate Founder of Licorne Gulf Investment Holding, Aerojet ME, Alexandre has consistently pursued ventures that merge industrial impact with technological advancement. His work has included key joint ventures in collaboration with CAC 40 and Fortune 500 companies reflecting a rare ability to align commercial insight with geopolitical strategy.
Irina Duisimbekova benefiting from an Eurasian background as Russian- Kazakh complements this vision with an entrepreneurial flair and forward-looking mindset that embodies modern leadership. As Co-Founder of AeroJet ME, Licorne Gulf Holding, and SympathiQ, she has championed the integration of luxury, innovation, and social consciousness across industries. Her diverse portfolio includes investments in private aviation, energy, and technology, along with new-generation ventures such as Healthcare company, a UK-based company transforming medical imaging data for AI research and healthcare innovation. Irina’s leadership within family investment structures reflects a focus on sustainability, inclusivity, and the development of meaningful partnerships across continents. Her background, marked by an MBA from London South Bank University and a global perspective through her USSR and Kazakhstan origins, empowers her to navigate markets with both analytical precision and cultural empathy and benefiting from solid international networks and connections within the political, economical and iconic investors.
The professional synergy between Alexandre and Irina has elevated Licorne Gulf Holding to become one of the most respected independent investment entities in the region. Their combined expertise fuels initiatives that connect European technology with Middle Eastern capital, fostering sustainable growth across strategic industries. Projects under their guidance, spanning private aviation, renewable energy, digital infrastructure, mergers at the Nasdaq and Nyse and defense innovation and semi-industrial assets in ammunitions and tactical products, are reshaping how global partnerships are built and scaled. Under AeroJet ME, they have redefined the private aviation experience with a commitment to excellence, discretion, and global reach, serving corporate and government clients with unmatched precision and reliability.
Beyond their business endeavors, both leaders exemplify resilience and adaptability in an ever-changing world. Alexandre’s ability to build alliances between multinational corporations and Gulf institutions has established him as a key architect of transnational cooperation, while Irina’s passion for defense, transmissions, education, wellness, travel has inspired her ventures that blend human connection with technological progress. Together, they personify the next generation of leadership in the Middle East, visionaries who not only drive economic transformation but also cultivate meaningful impact across borders.
As the region continues its accelerated journey toward diversification and innovation, Alexandre Katrangi and Irina Duisimbekova stand at the center of that evolution, bridging tradition and modernity, strategy and vision, investment and purpose. Their story is one of partnership built on trust and global perspective, and their work continues to influence how business leadership is defined across the Middle East and beyond. Their direct capital and funding capabilities and syndication financing lead them to support both private and Governmental sectors.
Visit www.licorne-gulf
Read full article: https://www.gulfarticles.com/middle-east-most-influential-leaders-2026/
By Sana.
Impressive list of business leaders shaping the Middle East’s future. Their ability to scale operations and maintain strong customer connections is key to lasting success. Efficient call center outsourcing can help these leaders ensure consistent support while focusing on strategic growth.