About

Emirates is one of the premier airlines globally, ideally placed to serve international routes and connect East to West from its headquarters and primary hub Dubai International Airport – it is stated that approximately two-thirds of the world’s population lives within an eight-hour flight from Dubai. It is notable for the fact that all of its over-200-aircraft fleet are large wide-body airliners (including 95 Airbus A380 ‘superjumbo’ jets capable of carrying over 600 passengers in some configurations), and its position as fourth-largest airline in the world by scheduled passenger-miles flown. Taking ultimate responsibility for the legal operations of this sprawling travel enterprise is Rick Ward, senior vice president of group legal. He originally worked as an in-house counsel to Emirates in the 1990s, and thus boasts immense working knowledge of the company and air law in general, key attributes that made him the perfect fit for his current role, which he took on in 2012. Aside from Emirates, Ward worked in private practice in Australia for DLA Piper and in an in-house capacity for Deloitte Consulting.