Nabeela Elsayed: Former Chief Operations Officer, Award-Winning Leader, and Advocate for Redefining Success
Nabeela Elsayed boasts over 20 years of diverse operations, human resources, and
technology expertise. Honored as one of the Globe and Mail’s Top 50 Executives, WXN’s Top
100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and HRD’s Top 100 HR Leaders, her career spans
leadership roles at Walmart, IKEA, and Starbucks Coffee.
As the former Chief Operations Officer at Walmart Canada, Nabeela oversaw 400+ stores,
serving 1.5 million customers and 100,000 associates. Beyond corporate realms, she has been
a TaskRabbit board member and a board advisor for the Future Skills Centre of Canada. She
is currently a board director for the Miracle Foundation, working to alleviate the suffering of
orphaned children globally and a board director at the National Council of Canadian Muslims.
Nabeela Elsayed Keynote Topics
- Balancing Act: Master organizational stability in a rapidly changing world. Navigate change and complexity in an uncertain environment to lead an organization through all challenges.
- Re-Imagining Success: Redefining success as a compass for better work, leading to a happier and healthier life.
- Re-Imagining Leadership: The strategic power of hope and courage. Foster hope and deeply rooted trust to encourage commitment, engagement, and followership.
- A New Era of Inclusion: Resetting DEI as a force for future growth.
Female speaker Nabeela Elsayed is not just a leader but a catalyst for positive change. She founded MuslimHaqq to dispel misconceptions about Muslims and co-founded Riple, redefining conversations on wellbeing. She is equally as committed to developing the next generation of responsible leaders as a faculty member of Competent Boards and through her coaching as a certified executive coach and diverse speaker and member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches.
Nabeela Elsayed’s expertise and insights are as unique as her experience. With an extensive background as a C-level executive, board member, management consultant, coach and organizational psychology expert, she brings thought-provoking ideas and practical tools.
A respected female speaker, Nabeela Elsayed combines wisdom with compassion and approaches topics with authenticity, openness, and courageous honesty. With a sharp eye for how the world is shifting for both better and worse, she blends her expertise in business operations, organizational behavior, mental health, technology, societal issues, and the future of work with profound insights and actionable guidance.
Who is Nabeela Elsayed?
Nabeela Elsayed is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of experience in operations, human resources, and technology. Throughout her career, she has held leadership positions at renowned companies such as Walmart, IKEA, and Starbucks. As the former Chief Operations Officer of Walmart Canada, she was responsible for over 400 stores and 100,000 employees. Previously, she served as Chief Human Resources Officer for IKEA USA and, as Head of Digital Transformation at Ingka, led IKEA’s digital and retail transformation across 41 countries worldwide.
Nabeela has received numerous accolades for her achievements, including recognition as one of Canada’s Top 50 Executives, one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, and one of the Top 100 Global HR Leaders. She is a certified executive coach, a member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches, and a faculty member at Competent Boards, where she trains future board members in responsible corporate governance.
Beyond her professional work, Nabeela is actively involved in various organizations. She is the founder of MuslimHaqq, an initiative aimed at educating the public about Muslims and combating systemic Islamophobia. Additionally, she co-founded Riple, a global conference dedicated to reshaping conversations around well-being. She also serves on the board of the Miracle Foundation, advocating for every orphaned child to have a loving home, and is a board member of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, where she works on human rights initiatives.
Nabeela Elsayed holds a dual degree in Marketing and Supply Chain Management from Indiana University and a master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Behavior from the University of Texas. Her impactful career represents leadership, social influence, and transformative thinking.