Named as ‘the Queen of Soft Power’, a self‐ built seasoned architect, a mother of two, a Senior Director and the Head of Interior Design Department at EMAAR Development LLC‐ Dubai, Rama Keilani Sonmez enjoys 25‐year experience in the Turkish, European, African, North African, and UAE real‐estate markets. She has been passionately and creatively inspiring sophisticated designs that have fit into cross‐cultural settings organically.

Under Emaar Innovation, Rama has initiated and led “The Happy City Program”, in partnership with Harvard University Graduate School of Design Executive Education, in line with the vision of HH Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to make Dubai the Happiest city in the world. Merging innovative concepts with best practices to design, Rama has helped build a happiness Index, aiming at enhancing the value of mega developments like Dubai Creek Harbour.

As a senior Architect and interior design influencer, her expert eye for aesthetics, and special sensitivity to clients’ needs and spacial awareness, Rama combines creativity and functionality to meet market challenges. Utilizing her coaching skills as a Certified Life Coach (trained at the International Life Coaching Training school, 2011), Rama has successfully led talented teams of professionals, and driven their collective energies to bring life to sophisticated design ideas, which have sustained an immaculate record of success and gone above and beyond expectations.

A graduate Architect of University of Jordan (1993), and a researcher at Kingston University – UK (1998‐2001), and an extensive experience at EMAAR Turkey and Dubai (since 2006), has acquired a diverse skill set through her dedication and informed efforts in her work in the UK, Turkey and Italy. Her passion for traveling around the world has been accentuated as a result of her participation with NGOs. Additionally, she has been working on Archeological and Heritage related ventures.

Rama’s vast experience has enabled her to manage a variety of projects and maintain highest levels of commitment to excellence and quality design standards, thus, paving the way for other female architects to follow in her footsteps, wherever she lived: Amman, Istanbul and UAE.

In addition to her intense intellectual repertoire, Rama speaks Arabic, English, Turkish and French.

Rama’s main source of energy is her passion. She aspires to set a personal signature in the design arena, and to be part of positioning the Emaar brand, as a world leader in creating unique Customer Experiences and Lifestyle trends.