About

Khalid Khan has almost unparalleled experience of legal work in the Middle East, having practiced at a high level at law firms and in an in-house capacity at a variety of companies, including renowned family-run firms that have been at the centre of the Gulf economy for decades – in his case, MH Alshaya and his current company, The Zubair Corporation. He speaks extremely positively of this experience, placing his experience with these heritage companies as among his career highlights. ‘I have been extremely fortunate in working with two of the leading merchant families in the Gulf’, he recalls. ‘Both are ambitious and have expanded far outside their home markets to become heavyweight players globally, and both place an emphasis on ethical behaviour because they value their reputation more highly than money – you underestimate the old Gulf trading families at your peril as they are shrewd and savvy’, he concludes. As to how he made a success of his move to in-house work, Khan is clear that it was a learning process that he worked extremely diligently at. ‘I enjoyed developing expertise in these areas from scratch’, he explains, ‘and recognising what you don’t know, being passionate about what you do, and being willing to learn new things are essential ingredients to growth that stop you getting bored’. At The Zubair Corporation, Khan has managed to replicate his customary level of success, and speaks enthusiastically about a number of deals he has spearheaded during his tenure there. ‘In the last two years alone’, he says, ‘I have helped Zubair’s new oil & gas team set up two oil & gas companies, acquire just under 30% of an international oil & gas company listed in Ireland and the UK, win a major exploration and production contract and acquire 100% of a producing block from PTTEP (a listed entity part-owned by the Thai state)’. Khan outlines a series of attributes that he feels are key for a senior in-house counsel to possess: ‘Hard work and unflinching honesty are indispensable, as is a willingness to learn about the business in order to find practical responses to business issues’. Ultimately, Khan concludes that one should ‘never forget your role is to act as guardian and custodian of the best interests of the shareholders’.