About

A perennial high-flyer, as well as a trailblazer for Pakistani women looking to emulate her success in the competitive legal and business world, Fauzia Kehar’s extremely impressive career – achieved, as it has been, simultaneously with a number of external family and personal pressures – has received international attention. For instance, her story has been used as the basis for a case study at the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada developed for use in undergraduate or graduate level courses on career development, human resource management and female leadership. An integral part of Citi’s in-house legal function since 2006, Kehar moved to Dubai in early 2009 and was made director and cluster legal head for the Gulf and Pakistan in April 2014, having successfully gained the unconditional trust of the company’s senior management – the ultimate goal of any in-house counsel – prior to this. When discussing her personal career highlights, it is clear that Kehar will not accept anything but the very best from herself. ‘I always strive to maintain high ethical and professional standards’, she says, ‘Citi stresses a culture of ethics and professionalism, and members of the legal team are expected to be forbearers in ensuring that values set in our code of conduct are followed and maintained. The management culture is such that individuals understand that there is to be no compromise on following the ethical standards and values imbibed within the firm. I feel privileged in coming to work knowing that I have complete freedom to do what is right by our customers, our colleagues and by ourselves’. This attitude extends to her team too, and Kehar prides herself on attracting, developing and retaining talent: ‘I have always felt that a strong team makes a stronger leader. An organisation’s primary strength is its talent pool. I encourage team members to be fully empowered in their daily work flow. Each person within the team should feel empowered to be a leader knowing that he or she has the support of their manager should they need to be shielded over an issue or matter that needs senior oversight’. When taking a long view on her career and reflecting on what has made her successful, Kehar had the following to say: ‘Information is power and knowledge is key. I have worked hard to break silos so that individuals within the team are better informed, which brings together a fantastic mix of people from different backgrounds to work with each and to learn and grow from each other’s experiences’.