twofour54 chief executive named leading global thinker by Foreign Policy magazine

Noura Al Kaabi is the first Emirati to ever be featured on the list of 100 people considered thought leaders.

ABU DHABI // The chief executive of the local media-zone authority, twofour54, has been named as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s leading global thinkers of 2013.

Noura Al Kaabi becomes the first Emirati to be featured on the list of 100 people who have made a measurable difference and which recognises the world’s most distinguished “thought leaders”.

Other names on the list include Pope Francis, John Kerry, Vladimir Putin, Hassan Rouhani, Angela Merkel, Dilma Rousseff and Mark Zuckerberg.

Ms Al Kaabi was named on the list of the Top Global Thinkers for her role in enriching online Arabic content, her contributions in supporting young creative talents and promoting digital media.

The chief executive of Foreign Policy magazine, David Rothkopf, applauded Ms Al Kaabi for promoting online Arabic content. Despite being one of the “10 most important languages ​​in the world”, Arabic content online does not exceed 3 per cent, Mr Rothkopf said.

Twofour54 is a government initiative that supports the development of sustainable media and creative industries for the UAE and the wider region.

Ms Al Kaabi was last year named Arabian Business’s media chief executive of the year and female chief executive of the year by CEO Middle East in 2012.

She was named one of Forbes Middle East’s 30 most influential women in government in 2013, one of Arabian Business’s 100 most powerful Arab women in 2011 and 2012 and one of CEO Middle East’s 100 most powerful Arab women last year.

Ms Al Kaabi is a board member of Abu Dhabi Media, which owns The National.