Dr Souad Mohamed

Dr Souad Mohamed is a multidisciplinary scholar and Senior Strategic Advisor on Leadership and National Transformation. She has held executive positions, including CEO, Chief Development Officer, Chairperson, and Advisor to the Board, bringing extensive experience across the UK, Middle East, and Africa. Her career spans the leadership of multi-stakeholder partnerships, cross-sector collaborations, and high-impact transformation initiatives.

Dr Souad advises senior officials across governments, business, and international organisations on executive education, national transformation, and inclusive leadership strategies. With over 18 years in UK higher education, she has designed, led and contributed to Doctoral, MSc, MA, and MBA programmes, earning recognition as one of the university’s leading academics.

She currently serves as a Senior Visiting Fellow at the LSE Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, where she leads the ‘From Research to Resilience: Scaling Leadership for Displaced Women’ initiative and teaches on the Programme for African Leadership (PfAL) at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Previously, she led the Women in Local Governance Programme at the King Salman Centre for Local Governance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and was Chief Executive Officer of IEL International in the UK. As Principal Investigator at the LSE Middle East Centre, she led the study ‘Understanding Barriers and Enablers to Women’s Leadership Development in Sudan’, collaborating with global stakeholders from government, academia, and civil society.

Her research focuses on sustainable and inclusive leadership, policy reform, and advancing women into decision-making and governance roles. She also examines the human and sociotechnical dimensions of technology and AI adoption, contributing to global scholarship on leadership and digital transformation.

A bilingual keynote speaker and executive educator, Dr Souad is renowned for translating academic insight into practical leadership solutions. She delivers programmes in Arabic and English for C-suite executives, government leaders, and senior professionals internationally. Her work promotes sustainable leadership, inclusive workplaces, women’s advancement, and youth empowerment, aligning with Vision 2030 and UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality).

Committed to building resilient leadership ecosystems, Dr Souad continues to drive initiatives that link evidence-based research with transformational practice, enabling leaders and organisations to thrive in complex, rapidly evolving environments.

Key Expertise: Leadership Development & National Transformation; Gender-Responsive Policy; Strategic Global Partnership Development; Women’s Leadership Advancement; Youth Development; Middle East & Northeast Africa, with a focus on Vision 2030 and United Nations SDG 5

Research Interests: Sustainable leadership development; inclusive leadership policies; women’s leadership advancement; youth empowerment; and sociotechnical dimensions of technology and AI adoption.

Region of focus: Middle East & Northeast Africa