• The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will take place in Santiago, Chile on 12-14 August, 2022 with a standalone combined event
• 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams representing all six World Rugby regions will compete over three days at Estadio Santa Laura
• The draw sees teams in three pools of four teams, replicating the Olympic tournament format
• The tournament winners will achieve core status on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023
• The Challenger Series was introduced in 2020 to boost rugby sevens’ development across the globe and provide a pathway for promotion to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series

The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will return with a standalone, combined event in Santiago, Chile on 12-14 August, 2022, following a one-year break due to the global pandemic.

The 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams from all six World Rugby regions qualified via regional competitions and will compete over three days at Estadio Santa Laura with the tournament winners achieving the highly coveted core status on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023.

The competition format replicates the Olympic Games, which sees the 12 teams drawn in to three pools of four teams each. The top two from each pool along with the two best third-placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals, before the semi-finals and final will decide the winners who gain the ultimate prize of promotion to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

The draw for the men’s pools sees hosts Chile paired with South Korea, Papua New Guinea and Georgia in Pool A. In Pool B Hong Kong will take on Tonga, Jamaica and Zimbabwe. While a strong Germany outfit who produced impressive performances as an invitational team on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in 2021 and 2022 are in pool C with Uruguay, Uganda and Lithuania.

In the women’s competition hosts Chile are in pool D where they will face opposition from China, Kenya and South Africa, who played as an invitational team in the final event of the 2022 Series in Toulouse in May.

Poland and Belgium represented themselves with distinction as invitational teams at the 2022 Series events in Malaga and Seville and will face each other in pool E alongside Argentina and Papua New Guinea. Japan have plenty of experience in the Series, including in Langford this year, and they will take on Kazakhstan, Colombia and Mexico in pool F.

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The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series was launched in February 2020 to boost rugby sevens’ development across the globe. The competition acts as the promotion pathway for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series with the men’s and women’s Challenger Series winners becoming a core team on the World Series for the following season.

The men’s Challenger Series 2020 featured two rounds, both played in South America. Japan’s men’s team gained promotion following the inaugural pair of events. This year’s event will see the debut for women’s teams in the Challenger Series after the planned inaugural women’s Challenger Series event scheduled to take place in March 2020 in Stellenbosch, South Africa, was unable to take place due to the pandemic.

Rugby sevens players and fans can look forward to a very busy and exciting rest of 2022 with the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on 29-31 July, followed by the Challenger Series, the grand finale of the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 on 26-27 August before Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town on 9-11 September.

World Rugby Chief Competitions and Performance Officer Nigel Cass said: “The World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series is a vital component of our ambitious plans to develop the sport further across the globe, and with the prize of promotion to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 at stake for the winners, the competition across the three day event will be intense from start to finish.

“Rugby sevens is a key driver of global growth for our sport, particularly in emerging nations, and it firmly remains a top priority for World Rugby. Following the highly impactful Olympic competition in Tokyo last year, which caught the imagination of many new fans worldwide, the short format game continues to expand and captivate audiences with its dynamic, skillful and exciting nature.

“We thank the Federación de Rugby de Chile for their partnership in delivering this important event for the first time since the inaugural event in 2020, and we are working very closely together to ensure a high performance environment for players and teams to showcase their talents.”

Federación de Rugby de Chile President Cristian Rudloff said: “As Chile Rugby we are very proud of the confidence that World Rugby places in us again for the realisation of a world mega event. This is undoubtedly a result of the serious and professional work that we have developed in the last three years. As a country, we are preparing to receive our guests with our usual warmth, and we are preparing to have a world sports festival.

“The dispute for promotion to the World Series will be the maximum motivation for athletes who also dream of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“We will continue to work so that all rugby players in Chile have the opportunity to experience first-hand the best World Rugby events, such as the men’s 7’s Condors playing the Challenger Series again, and it makes us tremendously proud that our female Condors also have the opportunity to compete at the highest international level.”

Report key findings:
• $1.5 billion Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) secured
• 21.4m kWh renewable energy generated across Majid Al Futtaim
• 45 assets with a LEED, BREEAM or equivalent certification in 2021 
• Majid Al Futtaim – Retail has entirely phased out single-use plastic bags in seven countries
• Majid Al Futtaim – Properties’ greenhouse gas emissions targets are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 5 July 2022: Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made significant strides toward environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues in 2021, according to its latest ESG report ‘Dare Together’. 

In alignment with the UAE Government’s national strategic Net Zero targets, the Company advanced towards its target to be Net Positive in carbon by 2040 – becoming one of the first three signatories to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment. 

Key achievements across the year include securing a $1.5 billion Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL), a first in the region, dependent on measurable improvements on specific yearly targets that seek to positively impact people and the planet. As part of the SLL, Majid Al Futtaim will work to ensure its entire shopping mall portfolio is certified by 2026, with non-certified malls achieving a minimum of LEED Gold or equivalent. 

Sustainable buildings remain a focal point in the Company’s ambitions; the report notes it holds the world’s first LEED Platinum certification for its hotel portfolio, and Mall of Oman is its first superregional mall to be LEED Platinum certified. Total assets with a LEED, BREEAM or equivalent certification in 2021 are 45 (up from 35 in 2020), while total assets in the process of being certified in 2021 are 20 (up from 12 in 2020).

As climate change continues to rank highly on the global agenda, Majid Al Futtaim Properties’ near and long-term greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) targets have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to support its transition to Net Positive. The Company also signed up to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Commitment, requiring emissions reductions of 50% by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050 at the very latest. This target covers all GHG emissions across the Majid Al Futtaim business. 

Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Majid Al Futtaim – Holding, said: “The rise of ESG on the corporate agenda has transitioned quickly from a niche interest to a mainstream requirement for companies seeking to lead across all industries today. With ethical buying and sustainability gaining importance for consumers, we want to create a positive impact in everything we do, from our local communities and the organisations we partner with, to the products we procure, and sell.

“In that regard, our 2021 report reveals our most recent accomplishments and represents a milestone in our journey to become Net Positive in carbon by 2040. Our team is unified in its vision with a tenfold growth ambition over the next decade, focussed on discovering new opportunities, expanding consciously towards a more connected, sustainable, and equitable future for all.”

With the ever-increasing need for clean energy solutions worldwide, Majid Al Futtaim also notably advanced its renewable energy progress during 2021, with its shopping malls, communities and retail assets growing their renewable energy generation to 21.4 million kWh compared to 17 million kWh in 2020, an increase of 26%. Furthermore, a new solar park in Jordan became operational last year, comprising more than 49,000 solar panels and providing 100% of the energy use of 35 Carrefour stores across the country with renewable supply. A second agreement was also signed, which will provide the largest private solar plant in the Kingdom of Bahrain once developed, spanning over 40,000 m² and generating 50% of the shopping mall’s energy consumption needs.

Creating a future free of single-use plastic waste remains a priority for companies around the world – including Majid Al Futtaim, as the report highlights progress in the roll-out of the Single-Use Plastics Phase-out Policy. The latest figures show that Carrefour Armenia phased out all single-use plastic bags in 2021, offering customers a variety of reusable alternatives. Majid Al Futtaim – Retail has also completely phased out single-use plastic bags in seven countries of operation. Additionally, a Dubai-based air-to-water pilot began in 2021 to explore hydro-panel technology and solar power to generate clean drinking water from air. Ten hydro-panels are now installed, each producing an average of four litres of water per day using solar energy and having the capacity to store 40 litres of water. 

Majid Al Futtaim continued to progress in various existing areas of ESG importance, including a series of initiatives focused on the professional advancement of its local talent, namely the Company’s commitment to recruit 3,000 Emiratis seeking to build their careers in the private sector throughout the coming years, and the launch of region’s first private sector women coders programme seeking to reach over 5,000 women in tech in the next five years. A pledge has also been made to increase the representation of women in leadership positions to 30% by 2025 and to employ over 35% of women in advanced technologies and digital roles by 2023. 

As the first company in the Middle East and the first of 62 organisations worldwide to sign up to the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, Majid Al Futtaim adheres to its transparent reporting on performance against a globally aligned set of environmental, social and governance indicators.

You can access the full report here.

Cedar Rose has entered into a strategic alliance with CIEMS, a research, advisory and consulting firm providing reliable market intelligence to maximize business capabilities. The partnership is aimed at reinforcing Cedar Rose’s presence in Morocco.  

Antoun Massaad, Co-Founder and CEO of Cedar Rose, commented, “We are excited to collaborate with CIEMS that has a proven track record in providing a wide range of business and market intelligence solutions and services dedicated to boosting performance while thwarting risks. We are keen to expand our footprint in Morocco, supporting government, financial and corporate organisations that have a focus on regional and international markets. Our strategic partnership will help shorten the path to relevant data insights which in turn will improve business outcomes. The immediate focus of our collaboration is to offer credit and compliance risk management solutions for government and financial service sectors. The unique expertise of our companies will enable us to deliver the very best solutions to our shared customers with access to the latest tools and technologies.”

Mourad Oubrich, Co-Founder and Partner of CIEMS stated, “We are a research-driven consulting firm working to improve the effectiveness and impact of research on businesses. With best-in-class services, we cover the broadest spectrum of markets in Africa. This new agreement will help our customers gain significant business advantages with a unique mix of industry strengths and expertise. Cedar Rose is a trusted partner to have a local presence in Morocco.”

Since its foundation, Cedar Rose has been at the forefront of providing world-class business intelligence and credit risk solutions to leading firms in over 230 countries and jurisdictions globally. Its comprehensive array of credit risk, compliance and identity verification solutions help companies, government agencies and individuals deal with escalating regulatory and compliance requirements while reducing their exposure to risk.

To find out more call +971 4 374 5758 or visit www.cedar-rose.com

Eric was homeless for more than 10 years in Seattle. A lifelong alcoholic, he’d spend his days outside a Starbucks store in north Seattle, along a busy stretch of highway notorious for crime. He’d use the free WIFI and chat with the store manager, Ryan Butler, when he stepped out during breaks.

“He was cool with me, he’d talk to me, gave me some coffee a couple times,” Eric recalls. “Starbucks is one of the few places you can go when you’re on the street, and they don’t chase you away.”

Through an innovative partnership called the Starbucks Outreach Worker program – that connects Starbucks stores across the country with local organizations focused on homelessness – Butler was able to refer Eric to a social worker named Denver Hanson, the Starbucks outreach worker with Catholic Community Services in Seattle.

During weekly meetings over an eight-month period, Hanson helped Eric get identification and apply for housing, tracking down hard-to-find documents he needed from out of state. In January, Eric moved off the streets, into his own apartment.

The Starbucks Outreach Worker Program, which launched in 2020 and recently expanded into its eighth U.S. city, is a unique partnership between Starbucks and nonprofits that have street outreach expertise. The goal is to support retail partners (employees) while also addressing societal issues like homelessness, mental health and substance use disorder. The program was designed in response to partners sharing the challenges they face in high complexity markets. It’s currently in in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Philadelphia, Chicago and Denver.

In each city, outreach workers dedicated to the program regularly visit Starbucks stores in high-incident areas (for example, near a homeless encampment). They walk around the nearby neighborhood and engage people who are marginalized or at-risk – identifying and responding to immediate needs, making referrals and trying to build long-term relationships. They check in with store partners to help address issues on the spot (if there was a shoplifting incident, for example, or if someone is not getting out of the bathroom) and follow up with the homeless customers they already know, who might be nearby.

In some cities, they also design curriculum and training experiences with Starbucks leaders and store partners around issues like mental and behavioral health and crisis de-escalation.

Nationwide, outreach workers through the program have engaged approximately 16,000 people experiencing homelessness. Of those, about 3,000 have been referred into a “stabilizing program” such as transitional housing, mental health resources or case management.

Meeting customers’ needs with empathy and compassion

Starbucks often is used by many customers as their third place – the place they go that’s not their home or work – but “we know many of our customers who are homeless use Starbucks as their first place,” says Julissa McWashington, Starbucks social impact manager overseeing the program. “And we know that partners who wear the green apron want to meet the needs of their customers with empathy and compassion.

“So how might we support Starbucks partners, and also connect our customers to critical need resources, and positively impact our communities?… It’s the responsibility of us all to hold hands and figure out how to do this collectively. We’re all one community. The public and private sector can do more together and do it in a way where we’re thinking about the person and the human behind all of this.”

Expanding partnerships is key. Starbucks is working with Arizona State University to help scale and evolve the Outreach Worker program – by testing out new organizational structures, engaging in policy advocacy and developing broader, industry-wide training and curriculum opportunities.

Bringing public and private advocates together

In June, Starbucks also held two “convenings,” in Seattle and New York City, bringing together dozens of key stakeholders to meet in the same space and talk frankly about homelessness – police departments, public libraries, boots-on-the-ground outreach organizations, elected officials, philanthropic funders and other companies. Two more convenings are planned for later this year in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

One of the featured panelists at the New York convening was Carley Medley with Breaking Ground, a homeless outreach organization which also runs the largest supportive housing program in the country. As an outreach supervisor, she and her team are responsible for checking in and around 15 Starbucks stores throughout Manhattan, focusing especially on several n Midtown. Daily, she crisscrosses a different kind of overlay map than the usual tourist-oriented spots nearby.  

On a recent summer day, next to a methadone clinic near Times Square, across the street from a Starbucks, she gives socks to a man she recognizes – recently discharged from a hospital, stitches still fresh in his head – and asks about the status of a transitional housing application he was working on.

At a subway stop near Madison Square Garden, a man recognizes her green Breaking Ground jacket and says he needs detox, rehab and shelter. She takes his information – where he hangs out, what kinds of services he’s used before, what hospitals he’s gone to – and then makes plans to take him to a temporary shelter.

Earlier in the day, next to a church shelter nearby, she did her weekly check in with a woman in her 60s, who’s in a wheelchair. She brought some ointment for the woman’s leg injury and lent her a cell phone to call a family member.

“Getting to know our clients is a good portion of my day, getting to know their stories, building those relationships,” Medley says. “I just want to be helpful, getting somebody a shirt or shoes, getting people connected with substance abuse programs, treatment programs, counseling, transitional housing. This is impactful, even though the problem is still huge.

“Some of these clients have been in the system their entire lives,” she says. “Everyone is a person. Everyone has a story. Whether or not it’s similar to yours, we need to be a little more empathetic and understanding.”

‘We are a people business’

Eric, the formerly homeless man in Seattle, is thankful for that kind of perspective and effort, and for the program.

“I almost gave up,” Eric says. “Somebody stole my backpack, and it had my birth certificate that I’d just got (that he needed for his state-issued identification application). I was crushed. I wanted to give up. It was gone, and Denver was like, ‘We’ll get it again. Let’s keep doing this.’ Because of this program, I was able to get my ID, and an apartment. I’m super grateful.”

Butler, the Starbucks store manager who first referred Eric, still meets with him occasionally at a public library near his store.

“We are a people business, and the coffee is secondhand,” Butler says. “If we don’t take the time to acknowledge the community’s needs and give back to the community, then why are we here?”

The Gatorade Sports Science Institute will be bringing its latest innovations, including the Gx Sweat Patches, to its new programme as part of Gatorade’s continued commitment to women in football.

LONDON, the world’s number one sports drink*, has collaborated with UEFA on a first-of-its-kind initiative to optimise female match officials’ health and performance ahead of, and during, the UEFA Women’s EURO. The program seeks to assist elite female match officials with a range of personalised consultations on hydration, sports nutrition, and menstruation, in addition to the use of the innovative Gx Sweat Patches during the games for continued assessment and data.

Match officials represent a unique group of athletes that have historically not had the same level of support as professional players, yet are expected to achieve the same levels of performance on the pitch. To tackle this, and champion elite female match officials, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) is providing them with access to a range of educational tools in sports nutrition – the same level of training received by professional athletes.

Gatorade’s collaboration with the UEFA Women’s EURO began in January with a winter training camp. Match officials including Stéphanie Frappart, Rebecca Welch, Cheryl Foster, Kateryna Monzul, Esther Staubli, Jana Adámková, Riem Hussein and Lina Lehtovaara were provided with practical sports nutrition advice through bespoke 1:1 sessions hosted by GSSI scientists and focused on diet, hydration, preparation, and recovery at all stages of training.

Each official took part in sweat testing, using Gatorade’s first-to-market Gx Sweat Patches – a technology developed by GSSI to track individuals’ fluid loss, sweat rate, and sodium loss during exercise to monitor hydration and help advance performance. All participants received a personal sweat profile and were taught how to decipher the results to better understand their nutritional needs while training.

Mark Kirkham, SVP and Chief Marketing Officer at PepsiCo, commented: “We support everyone who wants to play and this goes beyond just players on the pitch, but everyone in the sport, including the elite match officials who put themselves through the same rigorous training. Utilising our heritage and the expertise of GSSI we can help nurture and enhance performance to help take the game to new heights. Through working with the UEFA Women’s EURO, we have an amazing opportunity to make a meaningful difference in women’s football.”

The officials were also provided with education around menstrual cycles in relation to health and physical performance, with the ambition to break down barriers and normalise conversations about the impact of menstruation on sport. Each match official had access to individual nutrition counselling and personalised advice from GSSI scientists on how nutrition can be used to their advantage during physical training.

UEFA Sports Scientist & Training Expert, Prof. Werner Helsen commented: “The female match officials are the unsung heroes of elite football and we are grateful that through our ongoing partnership with Gatorade, they are getting access to expert knowledge and advice to help advance their skills and performance on the field.  Looking to the future, our ambition is to further build on the success of this program, which we have delivered with the help of Gatorade Sports Science Institute over the last 8 months to continue to provide the dedicated support the match officials need.”

PepsiCo has been a proud partner of the UEFA Women’s EURO since announcing its multi-year partnership with UEFA Women’s football in 2020, connecting people from all over the world through their shared passion for football. The five-year Women’s partnership will see PepsiCo support women’s football at all levels through to summer 2025, with PepsiCo as a main partner of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the UEFA Women’s EURO, the UEFA Women’s Under-19 and Under-17 Championships, and the UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO, as well as UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong program, which is aimed at encouraging more girls and women to play football.

The multi-year premier partnership further strengths the brand’s presence across the elite football landscape, sitting alongside its current multi-year sponsorship of the men’s UEFA Champions League.

* Source Euromonitor International Limited; Soft Drinks 2022 edition: % brand share, off-trade volume & value rsp terms, 2021 data.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
pepsicomediarelations@pepsico.com

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

About Gatorade

The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo, provides sports performance innovations designed to meet the needs of athletes at all competitive levels and across a broad range of sports. Backed by more than a 50-year history of studying the best athletes in the world and grounded in years of hydration and sports nutrition research at the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, Gatorade provides scientifically formulated products to meet the sports fuelling needs of athletes in all phases of athletic activity. For more information and a full list of products, please visit www.gatorade.com.

About GSSI

Founded in 1985, the mission of The Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) has always been to help athletes optimise their health and performance through research and education in hydration and sports nutrition. Gatorade is focused on meaningful, science-based innovations that help improve athletic performance. As the creator of the sports drink, science is at the foundation of the brand and a key driver of long-term strategy, which is focused on the belief that athletic performance is driven from the inside out.

Hotel Manager at Swiss-Belresidences Juffair Bahrain

Swiss-Belhotel International has appointed Junaid Tehseen as the Hotel Manager for Swiss-Belresidences Juffair in Bahrain. Junaid brings to the role outstanding hospitality experience spanning more than two decades.

Making the announcement, Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President – Operations & Development, EMEA & India; Senior Vice President – Group Human Resources & Talent Development, Swiss-Belhotel International, stated, said, “We are pleased to appoint Junaid to lead the team at Swiss-Belresidences Juffair in Bahrain. Junaid has excellent experience and expertise in the hospitality sector having worked his way up from the ranks. We are confident under his leadership this superb property will achieve greater success while delivering memorable guest experiences.”

A Pakistani national, Junaid holds a Bachelors’ Degree from Karachi University as well as Hospitality Management certification from Cornell University. During the course of his career, he was also awarded numerous recognitions.

Junaid took his first steps in the hospitality industry in 2000 as a Guest Service Agent at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel & Towers. He moved to Dubai in 2002 joining the Sheraton Deira Hotel & Towers. After two years he once again returned to Karachi Sheraton Hotel & Towers and progressively worked his way up. In 2011 he took up the role of Front Office Manager at Siji Hotel Apartments in Abu Dhabi. Prior to joining the Swiss-Belresidences Juffair, Bahrain, Junaid served as the Executive Assistant Manager Rooms at the Majlis Grand Mercure Residence Abu Dhabi.

Swiss-Belresidences Juffair in Bahrain is 4-star hotel features 129 well-appointed one, two- and three-bedroom apartments equipped with outstanding facilities and one of the most spacious and comfortable addresses in the city.

All units come with a living room, a fully equipped kitchen with an oven, fridge, and microwave, as well as separate dining areas. Other features include a king size or twin beds, complimentary Wi-Fi, home entertainment system and 55” LCD TV with a wide variety of cable channels. The hotel also has a gym, business center, and terrace, as well as 24-hour reception and concierge service. There is a games room equipped with pool, ping pong tables and playstation.

• Eight students have been mentored through the ‘Extraordinary Women’ programme, with mentors including entrepreneurs from sectors such as engineering, business and design, alongside academics and Bentley experts
• The initiative aims to inspire young women with the broad range of career opportunities available in the luxury automotive sector
• During a week-long visit students travelled from both the United Arab Emirates and the UK to gain unique insights into the Bentley business and automotive careers
• Extraordinary Women supports Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy and goals to achieve 30 per cent diverse management by 2025

(Crewe, 8 July 2022) Bentley has successfully completed its first ‘Extraordinary Women’ mentorship programme, with the visit of five members of its first cohort to Bentley’s headquarters in Cheshire.

The programme is designed to inspire the next generation of female talent and has engaged female students in the fields of technology, engineering, design and business, at partner universities in the UK and Middle East.

During a week long programme of activity, the students had the opportunity to explore various aspects of Bentley’s manufacturing operations in Crewe, learn more about products and business strategy, join panel talks with senior leaders and trainees from Bentley’s early careers cohort and pitch their project ideas to colleagues from the Sales and Marketing team.   

Member of the Board for Human Resources, Dr Karen Lange, explained: 

“Women remain under-represented in many key areas of our business, so as part of our Beyond100 goals, we are extending our efforts to reach female students – particularly those studying STEM topics – and offer them insights into our business and the wide-range of careers that we offer.

“We are delighted that our first visit and mentoring programme has been a success and I particularly enjoyed meeting with the students and seeing how they applied their academic insights to the business challenges we set them.  We will use their input and feedback from the week to improve our outreach activities further still.”

Sara Almarzooqi, who is studying Computer Science at the American University in Sharjah, reflects on having been invited to take part in the programme:

“It’s been a privilege to have participated in the first-ever Extraordinary Women Mentoring Programme and I could not think of a better way to have immersed myself in the brand whilst also learning more about engineering and technology from various women in the engineering team at Bentley Motors. Travelling to the UK to see the factory and meet some inspiring women behind this brand was a remarkable experience.”

Sofia Ragni, who is studying Automotive Engineering at Warwick University in the UK added:

“The week has been a great insight into what goes in to designing and building luxury cars – and how the Bentley brand is evolving after one hundred years.

“It was great to find out more about the craftsmanship that goes into each car, hear from Bentley’s leaders about their own career paths and insights – and see just how central sustainability is to Bentley’s future.  

“The experience has definitely sparked my interest in further work experience and opportunities in this sector.”

This was the first of an ongoing initiative from Bentley, which aims to inspire and educate generations of young women across the globe and to help equip them to take up leadership positions in their chosen professional field. The next chapter of Extraordinary Women will soon be introduced in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

– ENDS –

Notes to editors

Bentley Motors is the most sought-after luxury car brand in the world. The company’s headquarters in Crewe is home to all of its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production of the company’s five model lines, Continental GT, Continental GT Convertible, Flying Spur, Bentayga and Bentayga EWB. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to UK luxury car brands such as Bentley. It is also an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best. Bentley employs around 4,000 people at Crewe.