With more than 25 years of financial advisory and investment banking experience, Khlood Aldukheil is currently the founder and CEO of Erteqa Financial Company, a CMA Licensed Entity for Corporate Finance activities. Aldukheil is also a founding partner at Rating, the first independent local rating agency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She is a member of various boards and committees including the Capital Market Authority Advisory Committee.
As the first Saudi female to be awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst in 2003, we speak to Khlood Aldukheil about her glorious career and ongoing passion for finance.
What first drew you to the finance and banking sector?
My Father’s influence on my life is significant. He has a Ph.D. in Finance & Economics and had worked in the financial sector for many years. Of course, that was the biggest incentive for me to choose finance. Nevertheless, each has his own journey, and I realized early on that Finance is a much-needed service that can help many people. When I graduated from my MBA in 1997, banks had just started hiring female staff in head offices, and I joined the Saudi British Bank at their credit department.
In a male-dominated milieu, did you ever feel like you had to prove yourself?
I believe that education and skills are what validate oneself only. However, of course working in a male dominated environment was not comfortable just because the cultural norms were for segregation. Nevertheless, I have never once felt unsupported by my male colleagues, but we had to maintain separate office locations most of the time. Proving myself was a necessity to my bosses to deliver difficult projects. I was given the opportunity to work on great projects because of my knowledge and skills, this is how I proved myself. I recall working on projects such as the Kingdom Tower, back then it was just a plan.
As a pioneer, how was your experience like at the World Bank?
I initially joined the IFC as a summer coop in 1992 from Georgetown. I worked in the capital market department. Once I graduated, I joined the infrastructure department for 1 year only after which I continued my MBA in Finance at the American University. I do not consider my experience as significant at the IFC, but very much an eyeopener on how international organizations can affect the world.
And what pushed you to establish Erteqa Financial Company?
I believe that Establishing Erteqa Financial Company as my own CMA Licensed entity is a natural progression of my career. I have been working in investment banking for more than 20 years, most of which was with my family business Aldukheil Financial Group. The change that we are facing in general, whether we like it or not, has inspired us to do more. I think companies are just vehicles which are required to take you somewhere and deliver more services. I believe that many more companies will follow.
What’s your take about the current financial and banking sector in KSA?
I believe that the Saudi Financial Sector has always been very solid, fueling Saudi economic activities. However, I will say that the economy is shifting, not only due to the great changes and opportunities that we are seeing because of the 2030 Vision projects, but because of various disruptions that we cannot stop such as technology disruption, social changes, global political instability and other factors. The challenge to understand and, hence, develop the relevant regulations that supports growth while mitigating and managing unwanted risks will require a giant leap in knowledge and skills for all players whether the regulators, service providers or end users. Nevertheless, I am hopeful that we will adapt to these changes, hopefully to continue our strong financial sector.
Is the sector ready for the 2030 vision? And is it capable of establishing partnerships on a global scale?
I believe that the 2030 Vision is built on the strength of the financial sector and its potential scalability. The main objective of the vision is to diversify away from a single product economy, and this can be done through diversification and private sector participation mainly. This will be fueled by the financial sector, which is the connector between investors and those that supply the funds. The Government has enhanced its focus towards an investor-based economy, with great emphasis on opening up the Kingdom for foreign investors. This has attracted global partnerships and will continue to do so. The key driver, however, for any local or international partner remains the financial viability of their investments. The Kingdom is focusing on making investing in Saudi financially viable.
You mentioned sustainability, how can the financial service sector achieve that?
Sustainability has become the new theme not only for environmental issues, but for business and financial models. If we talk about sustainability as it relates to environmental, social and governance issues; then financial sustainability means providing financial services in alignment with these requirements. This includes green finance, investing in wind farms, solar parks, and support funding investments that will lead to lower carbon economy, support women financial inclusion etc.
If we discuss sustainability in the business models for the financial sector, then we are referring to managing the risk and return for service providers. The banks, for example, need to pay good attention to their asset liability management practices and operate within the regulatory guidelines. In other words, sustainability is achieved by prudent management techniques which will assure the sustainability of the business.
Outside of work, what activities do you like to practice? Where is your happy place?
I enjoy life. I try to do many things, including travel, meet new people and most importantly engage in discussions about finance. I love spending time with my family, I have 3 girls and an amazing mom and dad. For my peace of mind, I walk up at 6 am usually and spend a few hours reading mainly new information to enhance my knowledge; after that I meet some of my friends for some good discussion.
Text by Victor Gee
