Forward Training & Consulting FZE, a Dubai-based leadership development, executive coaching, organizational development, and corporate training firm founded by Dr. Soha Chahine, has been awarded a 2026 Global Recognition Award™ in the category of Innovation, Leadership, and Service. The recognition reflects the firm’s work designing behaviorally grounded leadership programs for senior leaders and organizations across the United Arab Emirates and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

Dr. Soha Chahine, an International Coach Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC), founded Forward Training & Consulting FZE to address a specific gap she observed working with senior leaders in the region: the distance between how leadership is measured on paper and how it is practiced day-to-day inside real teams. The firm works with private sector organizations, government and semi-government entities, multinational corporations, and large family-owned enterprises across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman.

A Behavioral Science Approach to Leadership

Forward Training & Consulting FZE positions itself as a behavioral-science-led practice rather than a conventional corporate training provider. Its programs combine validated psychometric instruments including the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 emotional intelligence assessments, the Leadership Circle Profile, and the Resilience at Work model with proprietary leadership and behavioral frameworks developed internally by Dr. Soha Chahine and her team.

The firm’s programs are built to be experiential rather than instructional. Sessions draw on scenario-based simulations, business case immersions, role-plays, structured group dialogues, reflective practice, and creative methods such as LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® chosen and combined according to the leadership challenge at hand. The intent is to move senior leaders out of passive learning and into environments where they can surface assumptions, test decisions in a low-risk setting, and translate self-awareness into observable behavior. This combination of psychometric rigor and applied experiential learning is deliberate: it is designed to produce changes in leadership behavior that hold beyond the duration of any single program.

Forward Training & Consulting FZE’s programs are built around the behaviors that matter most inside complex organizations  decision-making under pressure, difficult conversations, stakeholder influence, accountability, and resilience during change. The firm’s view, reflected across its work, is that leadership is not only a role or a title; it is a set of behaviors that shape trust, culture, and organizational outcomes.

Practice Areas

Forward Training & Consulting FZE delivers services across several connected practice areas:

• Executive coaching for senior leaders and C-suite executives
• Leadership development programs for emerging and established leaders
• Organizational development consulting for cultural and structural change
• Emotional intelligence training and assessment
• Resilience at Work diagnostics and coaching
• Psychometric assessments to support hiring, development, and succession decisions
• Team development and group coaching
• Human-centered organizational transformation engagements

The firm typically works with CEOs, board members, HR directors, and learning and development leaders who are building leadership capacity inside organizations operating in fast-changing markets.

A Cross-Sector Practice

Forward Training & Consulting FZE works across the full breadth of the regional economy, supporting clients in the private sector, government and semi-government entities, multinational organizations, and large family-held businesses. Its engagements span industries that include banking and financial services, retail, education, energy, healthcare, real estate, professional services, and technology, among others. This cross-sector exposure shapes how the firm designs interventions: the underlying behavioral science is consistent, but the application is calibrated to the operating realities of each client.

Evaluation and Recognition

Global Recognition Awards™ uses a multi-stage review process that assesses nominees on innovation, leadership, service, sustainability, and social responsibility. Shortlisted applicants are scored using the Rasch model, a measurement approach that allows fair comparison across different categories of contribution.

Forward Training & Consulting FZE was recognized for the clarity of its methodology, the evidence behind its work, and the relevance of its model to a regional market where demand for adaptive, human-centered leadership continues to grow.

Alex Sterling, a spokesperson for Global Recognition Awards™, commented: “Forward Training & Consulting FZE stands out for combining behavioral science with a structured, measurable approach to leadership development. The firm has built something that changes how people lead, not just how they talk about leadership.”

About Dr. Soha Chahine

Dr. Soha Chahine is the founder of Forward Training & Consulting FZE. She holds a doctorate in organizational psychology, with a focus on talent and culture transformation, and is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

Her work focuses on executive coaching, leadership development, and organizational transformation for senior leaders across the GCC. She is the co-author of The Talent Matrix (Global Influencers Publishing House, 2025) and Shaken, Stirred but Not Deterred, Vol. 2 (Global Influencers Publishing House, 2023), and a contributor to Harvard Business Review Arabia and Economy Middle East. She leads the firm’s research, methodology design, and senior client engagements.

About Forward Training & Consulting FZE

Forward Training & Consulting FZE is a UAE-based leadership development, executive coaching, organizational development, and corporate training firm headquartered in Dubai. Founded by Dr. Soha Chahine, the firm serves clients across the United Arab Emirates and the wider GCC — including private sector organizations, government and semi-government entities, multinational corporations, and family-held enterprises. Its practice areas span executive coaching, leadership development, emotional intelligence, resilience at work, psychometric assessments, team development, and human-centered organizational transformation.

Organizations interested in Forward Training & Consulting FZE’s leadership development and executive coaching programs can learn more at www.forwardtraining.me.