Overview
Maliha Jilani is the partner in charge of Heidrick & Struggles’ Dubai office and a member of the global Social Impact and CEO & Board of Directors practices. She leads C-suite and board search mandates, focusing on succession planning, board effectiveness, and culture shaping.
Maliha co-chairs the Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN) for Asia Pacific and the Middle East, an Employee Resource Group (ERG) that supports women's development within the firm.
Experience
Maliha has led board and C-suite engagements in the Middle East for over 15 years, partnering with clients in government and policy, culture and the arts, philanthropy, and education, including academic and functional roles across universities and schools. She is a trusted client advisor on CEO succession planning, board composition, governance, and structuring.
Maliha has worked for 20 years in senior global and cross-industry roles in management consulting, project management, and executive search. Her clients include governments, multinationals, and family conglomerates in education, non-profit, consulting, financial services, and hospitality sectors.
Maliha previously worked as a managing consultant for IBM Business Consulting Services (previously PricewaterhouseCoopers), where she managed financial transformation change programs for private and public sector clients. In this role, she helped Fortune 500 companies in multiple sectors across the US to initiate, drive, and lead strategic change and implement organizational change through recruiting, training, coaching, and organizational alignment.
Maliha is fluent in English and Urdu, has a working knowledge of French, and understands basic Arabic.
Education
University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce, B.S. in Commerce, Concentration in Finance and International Business