Female executives reshape GCC real estate capital flows across sovereign, institutional and family office channels

A USD 141.2 billion market with an evolving leadership profile

The GCC real estate market reached USD 141.2 billion in 2025, according to IMARC Group, with the UAE alone commanding over 61.1% of that total. As the region's real asset base expands, the profile of professionals steering capital into it is changing. A growing cohort of female executives now holds decisive positions across sovereign wealth funds, global alternative asset managers, construction groups and family offices operating in the Gulf.

Recent appointments illustrate the pattern. Khadija Benzit was promoted to Head of Real Estate at Mubadala Investment Company in May 2026, assuming oversight of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund's property allocations from Richard Nordell, according to Infrastructure Investor. Ami Momaya joined Blackstone as Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure for India in July 2026, moving from KKR, as reported by DealStreetAsia and Mint. In the UAE's construction and development sector, Mariam Azmy serves as Chief People Officer at Innovo Group, a UAE-based construction and real estate development firm, having previously held the CHRO role at ASGC, according to Construction Week Online. Anna Shishkareva operates as Principal at Five Oceans Family Office in Dubai, managing high-net-worth family assets and real estate investments, as documented by GRI Institute during its Family Office Summit Abu Dhabi.

These appointments span different capital channels, geographic origins and asset strategies, yet they converge on a single market: the Gulf's real estate and infrastructure ecosystem.

How large will the GCC real estate market become by 2034?

IMAARC Group projects the GCC real estate market will reach USD 260.3 billion by 2034, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 7.03% during the 2026-2034 period. The expansion is underpinned by tangible supply-side momentum. Regional residential supply across the GCC is expected to increase from approximately 6.26 million units in 2025 to 7.28 million units by 2030, according to Alpen Capital. Office supply is estimated to expand from 33.3 million sqm in 2025 to 42.4 million sqm over the same timeframe, per the same source.

This scale of pipeline activity demands sophisticated capital structuring, advisory capacity and operational leadership. The professionals directing these processes increasingly reflect the demographic diversity of the region's talent pool. Egyptian-origin executives, Francophone-MENA professionals, Indian-origin leaders and CIS-origin family office principals all contribute to the advisory and deal-making infrastructure that channels institutional and private capital into Gulf real assets.

The sheer volume of projected supply, over one million additional residential units and nine million additional square metres of office space by 2030, requires capital allocation decisions of corresponding magnitude. Sovereign wealth vehicles, global alternative asset managers and multi-family offices compete for positioning in a market where pricing discipline and regulatory compliance are becoming more demanding.

Who are the female executives leading GCC real estate capital allocation?

The profiles converge around capital deployment, talent strategy and asset management, yet each occupies a distinct node in the value chain.

Khadija Benzit, Mubadala Investment Company. Benzit's appointment as Head of Real Estate at one of Abu Dhabi's largest sovereign wealth funds places her at the intersection of sovereign capital and Gulf property markets. Mubadala's real estate portfolio spans multiple geographies and asset classes, making Benzit's role one of the most consequential capital allocation positions in regional real assets. Her promotion in May 2026 reflects the fund's confidence in deploying Francophone-MENA expertise within its investment leadership.

Ami Momaya, Blackstone. Momaya's move to Blackstone as Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure for India in July 2026 signals the global alternative asset manager's commitment to placing senior female talent at the helm of infrastructure capital deployment in high-growth markets. While her mandate centres on India, Blackstone's infrastructure strategies frequently intersect with Gulf capital sources, sovereign co-investment vehicles and cross-border deal structures that link South Asian and GCC markets.

Mariam Azmy, Innovo Group. Azmy's trajectory from CHRO at ASGC to Chief People Officer at Innovo Group illustrates how Egyptian-origin professionals have built executive careers within the UAE's construction and development sector. The role of Chief People Officer in a capital-intensive construction firm is directly connected to project execution capacity, workforce planning for large-scale developments and the organisational architecture that supports real estate delivery across the Emirates. Azmy's career path represents a professional corridor from Egyptian management training into Gulf real estate operations.

Anna Shishkareva, Five Oceans Family Office. Operating from Dubai, Shishkareva manages high-net-worth family assets and real estate investments as Principal at Five Oceans Family Office. The family office channel has become a significant source of real estate capital in the GCC, with Dubai in particular attracting multi-family offices that allocate across residential, hospitality and mixed-use assets. Shishkareva's profile, documented through GRI Institute's programming, exemplifies the CIS-origin capital advisory expertise that has established itself firmly within the UAE's wealth management ecosystem.

The presence of these four executives across sovereign, institutional, corporate and family office channels demonstrates that female leadership in GCC real estate is distributed across the full capital stack, from upstream allocation to downstream delivery.

What regulatory shifts are reshaping the operating environment?

Two regulatory developments add complexity to the capital structuring landscape these executives navigate.

Saudi Arabia's Law of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis took effect on January 22, 2026, with Implementing Regulations published on July 3, 2026. The regulations introduce a non-Saudi ownership fee of up to 2% on disposals within four designated cities. This framework opens new channels for cross-border investment into the Kingdom while creating fee structures that capital advisors must incorporate into return modelling.

In the UAE, Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 makes emissions reporting a mandatory legal obligation for real estate owners, with Scope 1 and Scope 2 reporting due by May 30, 2026. This regulation introduces an ESG compliance layer into asset management and development operations, requiring technical capacity in environmental data collection and disclosure. For construction firms such as Innovo Group, the emissions mandate carries implications for project-level reporting and supply chain transparency.

Both regulations demand advisory sophistication. Capital structuring professionals must now integrate ownership fee modelling in Saudi Arabia and emissions compliance costs in the UAE into their transaction analysis. These regulatory layers favour experienced operators and advisors over market newcomers.

A structural shift, not a cyclical one

The emergence of female executives across multiple nodes of GCC real estate capital flows reflects structural changes in how the region sources, deploys and manages real asset investment. Egyptian-origin professionals like Mariam Azmy have built careers within the UAE's construction ecosystem over multiple cycles. Francophone-MENA leaders such as Khadija Benzit now hold sovereign capital allocation mandates. Indian-origin executives like Ami Momaya bridge Gulf capital sources with South Asian infrastructure pipelines. CIS-origin principals such as Anna Shishkareva channel family office wealth into Dubai's property markets.

GRI Institute's programming across the Gulf, including its Family Office Summit in Abu Dhabi and senior leadership gatherings in Dubai, Riyadh and Doha, has documented this evolving leadership landscape. The institute's member network provides a forum where these capital flows and professional networks intersect, enabling deal origination and knowledge exchange among the executives shaping the region's real estate trajectory.

The GCC real estate market's projected growth from USD 141.2 billion in 2025 to USD 260.3 billion by 2034 will require expanded advisory capacity, more complex deal structuring and deeper institutional talent benches. The female executives already occupying C-level and principal-level positions across sovereign, institutional and family office channels are positioned to capture a growing share of this mandate.

The data points toward a market where leadership diversity is advancing in parallel with asset growth, regulatory complexity and capital sophistication. For participants in GCC real estate, the strategic question is straightforward: the professionals structuring the next cycle's capital flows are already in position.