About

Anwar El Khatib is a lawyer with over 21 years’ experience in both private practice and in-house environments, which has given him a ‘diversified and strong knowledge in litigation, consultancy and corporate affairs.’ Since joining Oman Insurance Company, one of UAE’s leading financial institutions, El Khatib has been overseeing all legal and transactional affairs and litigations of the company. His arrival at the company in 2012 has been accompanied by significant operational improvements to the structure of the department, as well as changes in its role within the wider company: ‘I gave the legal department another perspective, with legal becoming an important part of the commercial and strategic business decision of the organization’, El Khatib explains. In addition to navigating all legal, compliance and corporate affairs, Anwar has also contributed to the function’s expansion, limiting the amount of work outsourced to external advisors. Of note has also been his effort to lead joint ventures and acquisitions in Turkey and Iraq. During his previous role at the real estate finance provider Tamweel, El Khatib established a revolutionary process for enabling Sharia- compliant documents to be enforceable in constitutional courts between 2009 and 2010. A year earlier, upon joining the company at the height of the global financial crisis, El Khatib established Tamweel’s entire legal fraction from scratch, whilst operating with minimal resources.