Mona Kattan: “Being a CEO is not glamorous – it’s tough”

Now focusing on growing her own brand she said: “Being a CEO – I don’t think there’s anything easy about it,” she said. “The hardest part is bringing people together, making them work as one team, managing egos – including your own – being vulnerable, and having a vision.”

While entrepreneurship is often portrayed as aspirational and glamorous, Kattan rejected that narrative. “Being a CEO is not glamorous. It’s tough,” she said. “But if you want it, everything’s possible.”

Kayali has grown rapidly, positioning itself as a globally recognised perfume house rooted in Middle Eastern fragrance traditions. Despite that momentum, Kattan stressed the importance of restraint. “A lot of companies go too fast and burn out,” she said. “You have to take it step by step and enjoy it. Why build a company just to rush to be the biggest?”

Kayali eyes expansion into Asia

Looking ahead, she confirmed that Kayali is preparing to enter new international markets, with Asia firmly on the radar. “There are new markets that are very special for us,” she said without revealing more details.

Mona, widely known as the “Perfume Princess”, was speaking at a Kayali activation during the Dubai Shopping Festival. She said success ultimately comes down to people. “I’m so blessed to have the best team in the world,” she said. “That’s the most rewarding part. Everything else is the hard work behind it.”

With over 4,500 perfumes in her personal collection and millions of followers across social media platforms, Mona has established herself as one of the most influential women in the fragrance industry and the Arab world.

Her split from Huda Beauty was positioned as a strategic separation that allowed both brands to grow independently: with Huda Beauty continuing to scale as a cosmetics powerhouse, while Kayali develops its own identity in the fragrance space.