Maria Mahdaly

About

Maria Mahdaly is an entrepreneur who focuses on ventures that support her community. She is the founding partner of Rumman Company, an innovative media, print and online publishing house that serves as the umbrella company for Destination and Lub Creative. Established in 2007, Rumman Company has earned a reputation for its youth-oriented work and social responsibility to improve local communities. Under Maria’s direction, Rumman’s Destination platforms were founded as comprehensive city guides and lifestyle magazines and digital platform. Complementing Destination is Lub Creative, which delivers creative solutions in all media platforms. In 2010, her company was named the fastest growing start-up in Saudi Arabia at the Global Competitiveness Forum. Her work has earned her accolades throughout the GCC. Arabian Business magazine named her among the Arabian Business Power 500 Most Influential Arabs of 2012. Gulf Business also singled her out in 2012 as one of the GCC’s 30 Under 30 Top Young Achievers. In 2013, she was a finalist for the Most Innovative Woman Entrepreneur Award at the Women in Leadership Forum Middle East and Africa. A graduate of Dar Al Hekma University with a degree in graphic design, Maria also attended in 2008 the Social Entrepreneurship Program at the prestigious Babson College, the private business school in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Two years later, she was appointed as a delegate at the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship to meet President Obama and then-Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in Washington, D.C. At a young age, Maria has made her company a leader in Arab media by giving a voice to Saudi Arabia’s new generation of entrepreneurs who see social responsibility as part of their business plan instead of an afterthought. Her advocacy for a renewed spirit of giving and environmental awareness has helped the young Saudi business community become more competitive on the international stage.