general counsel | Ooredoo Oman, Oman
James Maxwell
general counsel | Ooredoo Oman, Oman
As general counsel, James Maxwell has guided what is now Ooredoo Oman, through every major breakthrough of its 11-year history; from winning the nation’s second fixed wireless to rebranding from Nawras and launching the WIMAX network, and several milestones in between. ‘I love working in the region, and particularly in Oman’, Maxwell says. ‘The evolution of legal services, both in-house and external, is exciting, and we have a unique opportunity to be involved in, and shape, that evolution’. Currently heading a 13-strong team across legal, regulatory and wholesale, Maxwell joined the company as Nawras’ sole in-house counsel. As well as structuring and building all three functions under his remit, he also led the comprehensive corporate governance review preceding its 2010 listing. Keeping integration at the forefront of the function’s development, Maxwell established procurement, pricing and tender committees and introduced standardised contracts and management systems across the business. In his view he has ‘made the legal function approachable and a genuine business partner’.