Dubai—Dentons launched Sayyidaat Dentons, a new network for business women in the Middle East, with a unique event on October 20, 2014, at the Dubai International Financial Centre.

"Sayyidaat" means "women" in Arabic. Sayyidaat Dentons is Dentons Middle East professional women’s network. It aims to connect the Firm's professional women with other professional women across industry sectors, creating a community to support and build the success of women both within the Firm and across the region. The founding partners are Catherine Beckett, corporate and commercial partner (Dubai), and Sadaf Buchanan, banking and finance partner (Muscat).

The network launch, which was hosted in partnership with Ellevate and Reach, explored themes from Sheryl Sandberg's best-selling book, ''Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead". A lively discussion was moderated by Richard Dean, one of Dubai's leading broadcasters and presenter of "The Business Breakfast" on Dubai Eye.

Panellists included Farah Foustok, Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer of Lazard Gulf Ltd; Nesreen Srouji, Head of Sovereign Wealth Fund Coverage for the MENA region at Standard Chartered Bank; Amel Murphy, Co-founder of Sustain Leadership, a management and leadership consulting firm; and Paul Jarvis, Dentons' Head of Banking and Finance (Middle East).

Commenting on the successful event, Beckett said: ''We are delighted to launch this network and to have hosted such an engaging and insightful event. Diversity and inclusion are at the core of Dentons' values and contribute to the success and strength of our firm.''

On behalf of Reach, Foustok commented: "One of Reach’s key objectives is to produce a new generation of female leaders from and for the Middle East - confident, driven, knowledgeable, experienced, compassionate and inspiring. We are proud partners of this event and the positive impact it had."

On behalf of Ellevate, Noor Sweid, member of the Board of Directors for Endeavor, commented: "Ellevate members are at all stages of their careers: ground breakers, thought leaders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, board members, and visionaries. Some are at the top of their fields, and others are on their way. We are pleased to partner with Dentons and Reach on this event to support the engagement of women in the Middle East"

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