Abeer Saqer, CEO of Memorial International to Receive the 2017 International Women's Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award
The organization hosts a gathering of some of the world's most successful women-owned businesses on Nov. 12-14 in Washington State
Houston, Texas, October 19, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Abeer Saqer,
Abeer Saqer, CEO of Memorial International Patient Care Network and the Director of International Services and Business Development at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center will receive the 2017 IWEC Award during the organization’s 10th annual conference, to be held in Redmond, Washington next November. The conference, titled ‘Connecting Women Businesses Globally: Accelerating Growth Through Innovation & Technology’ is sponsored by Microsoft, who is also hosting the event at their global headquarters in Washington State on November 12-14, 2017. This year’s conference has a strong focus on technology, cybersecurity and innovation, issues that are pivotal to IWEC’s sophisticated global network of women-owned businesses, whose combined revenue exceeds US$25 billion per year.
"We provide a global forum to exchange knowledge, experience, and connectivity among women business owners, setting the stage for education, disruptive business opportunities, roads to joint ventures, and promoting social dialog among women entrepreneurs and business leaders."
Nancy Ploeger, Executive Director, IWEC
“The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce is thrilled to nominate Abeer for her trailblazing work to aid with families traveling to the United States for medical care. Her team ensures that international patients receive not only premier medical care, but also guidance around travel, transportation, lodging and support while they receive medical attention. Their expertise, dedication and commitment to patients knows no boundaries: they go above and beyond to make sure that international patients receive the best care from highly talented physicians in the most prestigious hospitals, providing them with the best environment to heal. Her work has been recognized by former President George W. Bush, and accounts of her contributions to the Houston and regional communities has been featured on MBC News, Fairouz Magazine, and Al-Yagaza and Al Nahda magazines,” said Sunita Bajaj, Executive Vice-President of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and Co-Chair of IWEC for New York City.
“She is an accomplished and deserving addition to our list of awardees, as well as a role model for women’s business development efforts in Houston,” Ms. Bajaj further stressed. “IWEC’s 10th anniversary is a milestone for global women’s entrepreneurship. It is an honor to participate and celebrate this with some of the most successful women from all over the world.”
Ms. Saqer was born in Kuwait, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science & Clinical Nutrition from Jordan University. She began her career at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and made her strides by developing and launching the first patient referral service targeting the Middle East.
“I am honored to accept the 2017 IWEC award. My company grew out of a desire to share a message of hope with patients and families who travel to the US for advanced medical care, especially cancer; I lost my mother to the disease when I was very young, and it’s deeply rewarding to get this prestigious award for my work,” Ms. Saqer said of the award. “I look forward to meeting with other women entrepreneurs from across the world during the conference, and to learn from their experience, challenges and success. This year’s conference is doubly important given the very timely topics surrounding technology as it applies to my business growth and sustainability.”
IWEC is a New York-based international economic empowerment organization exclusively for women business owners, formed in 2007 with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State. Its founders include the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC), and FICCI/FLO Chamber in New Delhi. IWEC’s mission is to develop a global business network for successful women entrepreneurs, helping them gain and expand access to international markets by presenting a platform to exchange knowledge, experience and connections, and to promote dialogue among women entrepreneurs and business leaders throughout the world.
For the past ten years, IWEC has gathered some of the world’s largest and most successful women-owned companies in an intensive 3-day program to inform, connect and celebrate the work of women entrepreneurs from all corners of the globe. The conference will close with an awards gala that will celebrate the ground-breaking work of 53 new awardees from Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Americas.
The November conference also marks the first time that IWEC names a Conference Chairperson, and welcomes Her Royal Highness Princess Noor Asem of Jordan, who will provide part of the welcoming remarks and address the audience on empowering women’s entrepreneurship in her region. Other conference speakers include one of the most influential businesswomen from China, Yang Lan, owner of Sun Media, one of the largest media conglomerates in that country; she was also the ambassador of the Beijing Olympic Games. She is joined by new IWEC Board member and keynote speaker Ibukun Awosika, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the First Bank of Nigeria Limited; Melanie Alavi Director of Customer Technology Marketing from UPS; Fernando Hernández, Director or Supplier Diversity at Microsoft, Peter Martínez, CEO of Game Changer Tec, Jackie Sturm, Sr. VP of Supply Chain and Innovation at Intel, Aylton de Souza, Worldwide Enterprise Mobility and Security Business Lead at Microsoft, and other key drivers of innovation, technology and business development.
“IWEC understands that providing access, resources, and support to help enable the success of female entrepreneurs is key to ensuring women’s active, sustainable participation in the global economy, and closing the gender gap. We provide a global forum to exchange knowledge, experience, and connectivity among women business owners, setting the stage for education, disruptive business opportunities, roads to joint ventures, and promoting social dialog among women entrepreneurs and business leaders,” said Nancy Ploeger, Executive Director, IWEC.
Attendance for the exclusive event is capped at 250 attendees. Learn more about the conference, or register at http://bit.ly/2poMbvS.
Contact IWEC: Nancy Ploeger, Executive Director, IWEC. np@iwecawards.com (917) 796-4201.
Press Office: Andie Farris, CF Creative. marketing@cf-creative.com. (954) 225-9342.
Source: IWEC
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