Shada Elborno has built a 29-year career at Standard Chartered, rising to Managing Director while maintaining a value-based leadership approach in an industry known for aggressive cultures.
Join us this week on the
Open Equity show, as we're discussing how she defied stereotypes as an Emirati female in investment banking, why kindness became her leadership superpower rather than a weakness, and her framework for staying grounded in values while navigating the pressures of scaling responsibility across billion-dollar transactions.
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00:00 Introduction
02:00 Leading with soul and staying aligned to core values
05:18 Embracing self-awareness and defying cultural stereotypes
09:07 Evolving leadership through decades of purposeful work
13:38 Learning confidence through discomfort and public speaking
16:56 Staying rooted while adapting to constant change
19:43 Value-based investing and creating long-term impact
23:06 Personal responsibility as transaction scale multiplies
26:34 Shifting investment flows and future-focused sectors in MENA
29:06 Being a visible example without chasing titles
31:24 Loyalty to one organisation and learning through hard seasons
35:23 Staying steady as a leader in uncertain times
39:34 Navigating digital noise and social media
41:30 Founders approaching investment banks with new ideas
44:46 Mentorship, legacy, and staying open to reinvention
48:16 Seven lessons from a career rooted in kindness and grit
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