The cyber and digital sector, with artificial intelligence and robotics, is moving so fast on a global level but it needs to be better regulated.

cope with the impending crash. “There was a call then for a distinctive bankruptcy strategy. About a third of the executive team said ‘just don’t go there, we don’t need it, we’re too good for that, it’s tainted with failure.’ Then came the crisis, and it became apparent very quickly that it was necessary. Institutional investors needed the reassurance and the confidence,” she said.

After a stint as a consultant to the World Bank and more studying at Georgetown University in Washington DC, her skills were again in demand in the UAE. “The economics minister of the UAE, Sultan Al-Mansouri, called me and said ‘come on board.’ I replied: ‘Are you sure you want me? I’m a disrupter.’ He said ‘come on board anyway,’ so I joined the ministry. By the end of 2010, the new company law had been talked about for 20 years and was already in draft. We got it approved in a year. The guiding principle was: What’s best for the UAE? The old laws had to be changed and we needed modern economic laws,” she said.

Chalking up new laws is one aspect of good and we can be a leader in governance techniques too. The West brought in lots of regulations after the crash, but I think a lot of that was box-ticking. It’s very important that good governance and regulation is ingrained into business life.”

Sometimes she had to fight against ingrained orthodoxy, but the challenge did not deter her. “I’ve always had a resilient attitude and I bounce back from opposition, no matter how hard the wind blows against me. I’m proud that in three years we put through new laws on companies, small businesses, bankruptcy, arbitration and foreign investment,” she said.

In 2014, the focus changed again. Emirates NBD, the biggest bank in the UAE by assets, was under new executive direction and undergoing a change of philosophy. “I was the first woman on the executive leadership team, and saw diversity as one of my main goals. Now there’s an equal number of men and women on my team, and it’s very diverse in nationality. I’m attracted to anything that disrupts and restructures,” she said.

Restructuring the bank’s secretariat and legal