Making Sustainability Part of Business Strategy

Gihan Hyde is a Governance, ESG and Transformation Strategist with more than 25 years of experience helping organisations across Saudi Arabia, the GCC and the UK turn ambition into meaningful and lasting change.

In today's business environment, governance and sustainability can no longer exist simply as policies, reports or strategic commitments. Creating meaningful impact requires organisations to embed these principles into their culture, leadership and everyday decision-making. This is the space where Gihan Hyde has built her career.

With more than 25 years of experience across Saudi Arabia, the GCC and the UK, Gihan works at the intersection of corporate governance, ESG, sustainability, organisational culture, communications and transformation. Her work is centred on helping organisations translate strategic ambitions into practical action and create change that extends beyond the boardroom.

Throughout her career, Gihan has worked closely with Finance, HR, Audit and Compliance functions at organisations including Barclays, HSBC, BP, Marks & Spencer and the Riyadh Metro Project. Across these roles, she has focused on strengthening governance and sustainability practices, improving employee engagement, rebuilding trust and supporting cultural and organisational transformation.

Her approach recognises that successful transformation is not simply about introducing new frameworks or strategies. It is also about people. It requires accountability, communication and a culture that allows new ideas and ways of working to become part of the organisation itself.

This understanding has shaped much of her work in Saudi Arabia. As Board Advisor to Saafah Foundation, Saudi Arabia's oldest Transparency and Ethics Charity, Gihan played a key role in supporting the organisation's transformation into the Kingdom's first Governance and Sustainability Tech-enabled charity. Her work has contributed to wider conversations around transparency, corporate governance, ESG implementation and the role organisations can play in supporting Saudi Arabia's transformation ambitions.

Gihan is also the founder and former CEO of CommUnique, a B Corp-certified ESG strategy and communications advisory firm. Through her work with organisations across the UK and the Middle East, she has helped leaders move beyond ESG commitments and reporting towards implementation, accountability and measurable impact.

Alongside her advisory work, Gihan is an Oxford lecturer, CIPR and TEDx speaker, ESG mentor and LinkedIn Top ESG Voice. She has contributed to the development of ESG communications and professional practice through her work with the CIPR and regularly shares perspectives on governance, sustainability, responsible leadership, organisational culture and emerging issues, including AI governance.

Her career reflects a belief that transformation becomes meaningful when strategy is connected to action. Governance must be lived, sustainability must be embedded and organisational change must involve the people responsible for making it happen.

As organisations continue to navigate increasingly complex expectations around accountability, sustainability and responsible leadership, Gihan's work offers an important perspective. Lasting change is not created through ambition alone. It is created when organisations are willing to build the structures, cultures and accountability needed to turn ambition into action.

HerStory celebrates Gihan Hyde for her contribution to governance, sustainability and organisational transformation, and for continuing to shape conversations around how organisations can create more responsible, accountable and lasting impact.