About

Ben Swagerman’s varied career, involving positions at the very highest levels of private practice, state judicial and in-house, places him as one of the most experienced and well-respected corporate counsel currently operating in the region. Perhaps the most notable period of his legal career prior to going in-house was his 18-year tenure as a public prosecutor for The Kingdom of Netherlands, both in its European and its Caribbean region, the Dutch Antilles, culminating in him being appointed chief public prosecutor. From here (combining it with a notable political career as a senator in the Dutch parliament), he moved into the aviation industry as head of corporate security for KLM, where he worked for over ten years until August 2016. Since then, he has been employed at airline giant Qatar Airways, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world. Swagerman explains that Qatar Airways had ‘a well-organized legal department and contracts department’, but that he was brought in specifically to have oversight on this, particularly ‘oversight on the more complex and sensitive legal matters and privacy and general data protection regulation in Europe’ given his immense experience in these areas. Of the recent diplomatic dispute in the Gulf, Swagerman is adamant that the company’s overall fortunes will be affected as little as possible : ‘Political turmoil and human conflict in history has never prevented commerce from continuing, albeit in adjusted ways’ he states. The company is, also, lodging a complaint with the International Civil Aviation Organization aimed at regaining Qatar Airways’ access to the currently restricted airspaces as part of a direct response to the issue. Swagerman believes the best quality an in-house lawyer can have is a commercial mindset. ‘It is of key importance that you are able to think in a business-like manner’, he outlines, ‘as the typical stance of lawyers is that their primary attention is to stick to the rules. Secondly’, he goes on, ‘I would say that in-house lawyers should try to move away from the traditional standards and think outside of the box, as most regulations and laws are typically written for a relatively short future; as political operator myself, I know that stakeholder management is very important and can even allow you to have a hand in moulding the rules as they are made. If you can, try to make coalitions with industry friends in order to do this’, Swagerman advises.