Lobna Helal assumed the role of Chair of Telecom Egypt’s Board of Directors in March 2025, after serving as an independent board member since March 2019.

With over 30 years of experience in the banking sector, Helal was the first woman to serve as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for Monetary Stability Policies, serving two terms (2011-2013 and 2015-2019). In this role, she oversaw key sectors such as monetary policy, reserve management, IT, markets, payment systems, and banking sector reform, and successfully implemented a three-year monetary and economic reform program that concluded in 2019.

Since joining the CBE in 2004, Helal led a two-phase program (2004-2011) to develop and restructure Egypt’s banking sector. She also represented the CBE in numerous institutions and held leadership roles, including independent non-executive Chair of the Credit Risk Guarantee Company and the Egyptian Mortgage Refinance Company, as well as non-executive board member of the Nasser Social Bank, the National Investment Bank, the Mortgage Finance Support Fund, and the Social Housing Fund.

Currently, Helal serves as non-executive Chair of City Edge Developments, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Innovation for Sustainable Development Foundation, board member of the National Bank of Egypt (London), Egypt's Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Social Housing Fund's board, AlexBank, and El-Nidaa Foundation.

Helal represented the CBE as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the Financial Inclusion Alliance (AFI) and Vice Chair of the Gender and Women’s Financial Inclusion Committee. Prior to her CBE role, Helal served as CEO of the Hermes Financial Group, overseeing mergers and acquisitions and fixed-income instruments.

Helal has been recognized as one of Forbes Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East and North Africa Region, ranking second in 2016 and 2018, and third in the region’s public sector in 2018.

Helal holds a Master's degree in Economics from the American University in Cairo.