Tamara Abdel-Jaber – Jordan’s Inspiring Young Entrepreneur
COUNTRY OF BIRTH
Jordan
INDUSTRY
Business and IT consulting
TOP ACHIEVEMENTS
Role Model To Women
Tamara Abdel-Jaber instantly stood out from the pack by electing to study Accounting and Finance, rather than following more traditional paths. She is a firm believer in encouraging women to pursue what they are passionate about, and encourages women in her native region to take risks, be different, and to start their own business. She is a member of the Young Arab Leaders, the Business and Professional Women Association-Amman (PBWA), and the international organization Women Corporate Directors (WCD). The WCD members are all women serving as Directors of public or large private companies.
“Life is a conveyor belt; it brings you opportunities and if you don’t grab them fast, someone else will.”
Founding a Leading International Consultancy
When Abdel-Jaber graduated in 1997 she met the person who is her mentor to this day, Khaled Kilani. She went to work for him with a firm plan to learn as much as possible in order to start her own business within five years. She built on her existing grounding in business, finance and IT knowledge by learning about investments, legal issues, taxation, and human resources. Over a five year period, she progressed to become the CFO of a group of seven companies, and then in 2002, at age 26, left to co-found Palma Consulting with Kilani. Palma provides IT and consulting services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and employs 22 staff and over 150 contractors. The company is considered one of the region’s leading consultancies, and has formed partnerships with worldwide leaders such as Horvath & Partners GmbH, IBM, Metasonic and Software AG.
International Recognition
Abdel-Jaber is heavily involved with a number of regional and international organizations focused on the development of entrepreneurial leadership and the empowerment of women. She is a member of Young Arab Leaders, an organization focused on nurturing the development of future Arab leaders. In Oct 2009, she was a Middle Eastern delegate to the Global Women’s Forum in Deauville, France. She has also been recognized in the U.S: Abdel-Jaber was selected to participate in the 2009 Fortune/ U.S. State Department Global Women Mentoring Partnership, and spoke at the 2009 Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in San Diego. The young entrepreneur was also selected to attend the Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit in Washington D.C. In recognition of her business innovations and entrepreneurial drive, she was ranked at number 39 of 100 Most Powerful Arab Women for 2011.
ADDITIONAL FACTS
*Born in 1976. *Graduated top of her class from the University of Jordan in Amman, where she received her bachelor degree in Accounting and Finance with honors in less than three years. *Was certified as a Public Accountant (CPA) in 1997 from Delaware, USA.
