Dona El Sayah
Assistant Manager, Corporate Intelligence Services, Forensic, Deloitte United Arab Emirates
We are the women in Forensic. We navigate complexity and respond to critical business events while building trust. We turn vulnerability into strength and manage crises you read about in the news. We solve threats today and protect against risks in the future. We innovate, investigate, and find solutions to critical issues facing our clients and communities to shape a better tomorrow. We need more like us. We need more like you.
“Being on a team of almost all women has been a really inspiring experience for me because I've gotten to see women at all levels performing at their best.”
Meet Dona. She’s an assistant manager in Deloitte’s Corporate Intelligence Services team located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Understanding exactly who you are doing business with is not only good business practice, but legally necessary. Dona’s team provides clients with objective and accurate information that better enables them to make strategic business decisions.
Much of her work involves a range of services, such as background checks, third-party screenings with integrity, reputation due diligence, asset tracing, and providing investigation and research support within the forensic team. “Supporting investigations is what I’m most passionate about,” she says. “I help ensure that the people our clients are planning to work and spend time with, can be trusted.”
Dona’s entrance into the world of financial services began with her Bachelor of Economics from the Lebanese American University. However, it was her minor in legal studies and internship at the Central Bank of Lebanon that introduced her to compliance, governance and forensics. This launched her career in 2016 as a compliance officer at one of the country’s private banks. “I got exposed to the world of sanctions: how to identify the source of wealth & funds, trace how money entered a certain account and ensure whether the source of wealth is corroborated,” she says. “It was how I became passionate about forensic.” She was quickly recruited to Deloitte a few months later.
In Forensic, Dona notes that each investigation is new and exciting and provides exposure to a wide array of clients and industries, from companies to banks and government agencies, as well as the public sector, tax authorities, ministries, investment authorities and even royal families. This engaging variety offers Dona daily opportunities to further hone her investigation skills and grow in her craft. She is most fulfilled in her work when she sees the impact of her team’s forensic investigations—ultimately helping clients avoid risk. “When I find information that can actually help clients avoid certain risks and then deliver that report to them, it’s a great feeling,” says Dona. She notes that every bit of investigation evidence is a win, but what’s most rewarding is seeing the impact her work at Deloitte has on the people around her.
Dona notes that most of her team leaders happen to be women and appreciates that at Deloitte, “You’re not judged or evaluated based on gender. It's about your performance and what you bring to the table in terms of ideas, dedication and perseverance.” She finds inspiration in working alongside women who strive to be the best version of themselves, whether at work or at home with their families. “They’re working mums and they excel in that too—and they do it all so seamlessly. Working in an environment that helps us be able to do both is really inspiring.”
We need more like Dona.
We need more like you.
“At Deloitte, you’re not judged or evaluated based on gender. It's about your performance and what you bring to the table in terms of ideas, dedication and perseverance”.
