Soulaima Gourani

Soulaima Gourani is a Danish lecturer, corporate advisor, and author now based in Austin, Texas.

Soulaima was born in Safi, Morocco, in 1975 ^[1] but moved to Denmark shortly after with her parents. Her father was a Moroccan engineer while her Danish mother is unskilled. Gourani grew up in different small towns in Jutland where she struggled to fit in as she was the only one with an exotic name and a darker skin color. She was told by her teachers that she shouldn't expect to achieve much in life because of her gender, skin color, and name. She decided to move out at the age of 13. Later she chose to take a MBA at Copenhagen Business School. In 2007 she was fired whilst pregnant and had to consider how to make a living. She decided to set up her own business, Soulaima Art, which offers lectures and counselling. She is the author of three books; "Ignite your career", "Take control of your career", and "Courage to success" ^[2]

One2Speak elected Gourani to be one of the best Danish keynote speakers in 2010.^[3] In 2012 she was announced as one of the Young Global Leaders by World Economic Forum ^[4] and later that year named to be the chairwoman of the non-profit organisation Global Dignity.^[5] In 2013 she was announced as one of the greatest thinkers in the Nordic by Nordic Business Forum.^[6] and in 2014 chosen as one of the "40 under 40" European young leaders.^[7] She was elected as a TED mentor in 2016 ^[8] and was later that same year announced as one of the "Inspiring 50 Nordics" women in the tech-sector.^[9]

She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and their two kids.

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