Aarij S. Wasti has spent much of the last decade working on Qatar’s FIFA World Cup project, first on the winning historic bid and now on the delivery phase. After...

Chief legal officer for Gemstone Real Estate Development since 2014 as well as a divisional chief legal officer of the real estate sector for the Al Rajhi family, Aasma Khan’s...

Abdel Kader Ahmed El Khatib has been with SEHA since 2007 and having been board secretary since 2010, he has a unique purview into its overall organisational operations. As group...

Since joining the major Saudi conglomerate as group chief legal counsel in 2010, Ahmad Azzouni has expanded the legal function of Aujan Group from a team of two members in...

Approached to join Saudi Aramco Shell Refinery Company (SASREF) in June 2016, prior to which he was legal advisor to the eGovernment Authority Kingdom of Bahrain and also board legal...

Ajith Madhaven joined Aster DM Healthcare in 2010 to become the company’s sole counsel, forming the company’s legal department in 2014 – no mean feat at a company that is...

Leading oil and energy equipment firm Lamprell relies on the services of a highly capable in-house legal function to get the blockbuster deals which it is engaged with over the...

As general counsel of one of Dubai’s leading private equity and investment firms, Ali Khalaf has enjoyed an extremely diverse range of projects as part of his regular workload. He...

With 20 years of legal experience in both the government and corporate worlds, Amr Elsayed brings a vast wealth of knowledge to his role as senior legal counsel for Kuwait...

In place since 2011, Andrew Cooke has been absolutely instrumental to Flash Entertainment’s success in the eight years since, having had responsibility for IT, HR, internal audit, company secretarial matters...

A highly experienced in-house lawyer in the oil sector, Aneeza Siddiqui enjoyed lengthy and extremely successful periods with British Petroleum (where she was involved in the response to the Macondo...

Noted in the GC Powerlist: Middle East Teams 2018 for her excellent leadership of the EITC (du) legal team, general counsel and senior vice president legal Anneliese Reinhold returns this...

Aysha Abdulmalek’s role as general counsel for Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, gives her a unique opportunity to directly take part in supporting the...

Bharat Mehta is an in-house legal counsel, compliance officer and company secretary with over eleven years of experience in capital markets, private equity, fund structuring and management, contracts and other...

A part of the DHL in-house legal department since 2004, Brett Hattaway’s vast experience with the company makes him an indispensable part of its legal team. As vice president and...

‘Brian M. Dunn is the leading in-house counsel in the UAE on issues of legal tech, and he is on the cutting edge of introducing tech solutions to the general...

Bruce McAlister’s 19-year career with GE has seen him take full advantage of the myriad opportunities within the vast and highly diverse company: ‘I joined GE in London supporting GE...

In 2011, Cara Fox Dwyer put her plans into action and moved to Dubai to practice law, working in private practice in Dubai until 2017 when she transitioned into her...

Christian Graville has been head of legal for the Middle East at RSA Insurance since 2017. This is his second period of tenure with the company, having previously worked for...

Dalia Al Sayeh joined Honeywell in 2013 as general counsel for the Middle East after a private practice career undertaken at leading US firms in New York and the UAE....

Formerly a successful private practice lawyer, including periods as an associate for Simmons & Simmons and Jones Day, David Weir moved to his first in-house role with Mövenpick Hotels &...

As global head of legal for international agribusiness leader Al Dahra Holding, Dawn Sanderson has the privilege of working on some of the most noteworthy and high-value deals in the...

Qualifying in 2001, Dean Sheehan specialised in M&A and corporate finance in private practice within the UK, and achieved partner level only six years later in 2007, an early indication...

Dominik Engel arrived in Dubai from Europe in 2008, which has proved to be an extremely successful move given the success he has enjoyed since. Joining Giesecke & Devrient in...

Starting his career as legal counsel and then senior legal advisor, Dr Abdelkareem F. Alkadomi transitioned to become a judge in Jordan. He regards this particular part of his career...

Formerly a public sector lawyer in the Saudi Arabian foreign trade agency as a legal advisor to a deputy minister, Dr Abdullah M. Mattar joined Fawaz Alhokair Fashion Retail Group...

Prior to his in-house career, Dr Markus A. Federle was a highly successful private practice lawyer, with his most recent role in this category being as partner and head of...

‘General counsel of an institution established in 2014, I have the rare opportunity to create and develop the legal department, mixing cultures and pushing each individual to grow in its...

One of the most experienced in-house counsel in the Middle East with an unparalleled knowledge of banking regulations in the region, Dr Soliman Abdel-Meguid began his banking sector career with...

Having completed successful spells in the public sector with the Financial Markets Authority of Tunisia and as part of the in-house legal team in charge of derivatives transactions of BNP...

Formerly chief legal counsel for the Middle East and Africa at Eaton Corporation, Dr Yasser Aboismail joined Schindler Group in August 2016 as general counsel and compliance officer for the...

‘My prior stints with Schlumberger and Transocean and attending the INSEAD management programme played a key role in moulding me with the right skills and experience to assume my current...

Joining the Bank in 2013 as head of legal affairs, Elsamawal A. Idris was the Sohar International Bank’s only in-house legal resource for a time. ‘This helped me push boundaries,...

Emile Saadi is an English law-qualified solicitor who started his career in private practice in London before moving to Dubai in 2011. Today he leads Apple’s legal team for the...

Eyad Yousef Jaber has been in place as general counsel at Gulf Specialized Works since 2015, after ‘learning and acquainting myself with all disciplines of law’ through a successful period...

‘In 2010, when I started my first in-house role at Gulf Aviation Academy in the aviation sector I established a legal department from scratch and negotiated large commercial contracts including...

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,...

Coming off an extremely successful period as regional counsel of Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) during which he established the firm’s law department in the Middle East, Fayez Khouri joined...

Feras Alkasab began his legal career in the US as part of the IP and commercial transactions group at Sidley Austin and, seeking a challenge, moved to the Middle East...

Filippo Cossalter joined Johnson & Johnson in 2011 and was originally based in Belgium before moving to the Middle East in November 2015, where he now takes on an extremely...

Zain is a leading mobile telecommunications operator listed on Boursa Kuwait (and on three other regional equity markets) with a market cap totalling over US$8.2bn as of July 2019, counts...

Francesca Gori’s career at Accenture began in Italy in 2006 as employment law lead for Italy, Greece, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Then after expanding her responsibilities,...

Geoff Allen relocated to the Middle East from the UK in 2012, joining Arabtec in 2013. He was appointed as group general counsel and company secretary in early 2017 and...

An expert in-house lawyer within the media sector, Gordon Finlayson has provided his significant talents to such prominent broadcasters as Showtime and HBO, the latter of which he operated as...

Gregor Pannike sees general counsel operating in the Middle East as among the elite worldwide, given the unique challenges posed by operating within the region: ‘I believe in-house lawyers and...

‘I had the opportunity to work with Heba Hamdy on several matters’, says one extremely positive nominating source when describing the skills of Cisco’s highly regarded corporate counsel for Middle...

Dutco Group’s general counsel since 2007, Helen Graham’s extensive prior career included conduct spanning seven years on the largest London Maritime Arbitrators Association arbitration relating to the conversion of an...

Ian Quigley has enjoyed an impressive rise at Vodafone Group since 2009. ‘Looking to gain international experience’, he moved within the Group from Vodafone Ireland to Vodafone Qatar in 2013,...

Formerly a lawyer for the Ukrainian government, at the Defence and Justice Ministries and then a lawyer for the Ukrainian parliament, Irina Kovalchuk originally moved to the Middle East to...

Iryna Telychko’s educational and professional background, which is atypical for a Middle East-based general counsel, stems from the Ukraine where she trained as a lawyer, clerked in the judiciary and...

A veteran legal counsel with more than 15 years of experience in the fields of Islamic banking, finance, company, labour, real estate and construction law, Ismaeel Omer Elnasri has attained...

A dual-qualified lawyer in both Nigeria and England and Wales, Isoken Imohe regards her move to the Middle East, initially with Proserv Middle East in 2012 and thereafter with DNG...

Jafar Khan joined Mott MacDonald in mid-2015 after a successful private practice career based in Melbourne, London and Dubai, an experience that he believes ‘shaped me into the lawyer I...

James Ireland looks back fondly on his first in-house legal role, both for the specific legal skills he developed and the interpersonal abilities he honed which he considers indispensable to...

John Davidson’s move to Dubai in 2006 was preceded by a successful period in private practice with Osler in Canada, which provided a key grounding in corporate legal work that...

As general counsel for noon, the Middle East’s fastest growing e-commerce company, Justin Dowding has a vast amount of experience in setting up legal entities in new markets. When discussing...

‘Throughout my career to date, I have had the enviable task of establishing a legal department in the organisations that I have worked in. Therefore, my remit has always been...

Karl Rogers joined Standard Chartered in 2010 from Norton Rose Fulbright, and leads the regional Africa and Middle East legal team across 25 countries. He has driven the direction of...

A real estate and real estate finance lawyer in private practice in New Zealand and a project finance lawyer for Allen & Overy, Katherine McAdam originally moved to Qatar a...

According to Katie Lenko Hiess, general counsel and chief operating officer of SGH, ‘The in-house legal role is becoming much broader in scope. It is important that lawyers develop an...

Khalid Khan enjoys a reputation among in-house counsel in the Middle East as one of the most experienced lawyers in the region. His first in-house role, after a number of...

In the five years she has been DMCC’s general counsel, Kiran Scarr has enjoyed a uniquely successful and remarked-upon chapter in her career. Alongside a number of professional highlights, she...

Prior to joining Katara Hospitality in 2015, Kushagra Priyadarshi was a private practice lawyer specialising in M&A with India’s foremost firm Amarchand & Mangaldas and as an investment lawyer with...

Among the foremost aviation leasing companies in the world, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise boasts a fleet of hundreds of aircraft worth billions of dollars. Lesley Jones has acted as chief legal...

Lorenzo Bruttomesso enjoyed an extremely successful period with Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) between 2013 and 2018, signing a number of important strategic agreements on behalf of...

An extremely high performer for Yokogawa Middle East and Africa since joining in 2007, Mahmoud Zedan has been awarded the Yokogawa Award for Outstanding Performance in 2007, 2008, 2009 and...

Majed Alshabana has been the general counsel of the legal affairs department at STC since 2014, and now manages a team of 100 consultants from different nationalities and legal backgrounds...

Receiving mentions in the GC Powerlist: Middle East Teams 2018 for his excellent marshalling of the Nebras Power legal team during an extremely busy period for the Doha-based power development...

Starting his legal career with Clifford Chance in London, where he specialised in corporate, M&A and private equity matters, Mark Hultum joined Deutsche Bank in Dubai in 2015, assuming his...

Appointed to OiLSERV’s executive leadership team in 2012, Marthinus Vermeulen’s time as head of the company’s legal and compliance functions has seen these teams achieve an extremely high level of...

Joining Banque Libano-Française in 2007, Maya Hardini Abboud brings an unparalleled level of knowledge in banking and financial law to her role as head of legal compliance. In her current...

Meltem Ozker Gunduz takes on a multi-faceted and international role as vice president of legal, compliance and quality for Novo Nordisk, where she oversees all Dubai-based lawyers and 43 more...

Michelle Johnson joined Air Berlin shortly after its initial public offering in 2006, beginning her extremely successful in-house career within the low-cost airline sector. Here, she says, ‘I led and...

‘Since moving to Iraq in June 2003 and founding a law firm there immediately after the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, my career has been focused on supporting multinationals...

Mohammed Al Noor serves as group chief general counsel and international advisor for one of the largest family-owned international investment companies in the region Action Group Holdings. He leads a...

Among a number of highly complimentary nominations received for Moulham Al Chawa, one was particularly informative: ‘I have had the pleasure of working closely with him for over a year...

A forward-thinking in-house lawyer who is keen to make sure the department he heads at Dimah Capital Investment Company is at the cutting edge of legal capabilities, Muhammed Alaa Radwan...

Mustasan Jaleel Basharat Mir has noticed major changes in the in-house legal market in the Middle East over the past five years, with major new roles appearing and a corresponding...

As senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of what is often referred to as the world’s most valuable company Saudi Aramco, Nabeel Al Mansour is one of the most...

Formerly general counsel and senior advisor in the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior’s Social Security Fund, Nadim El Haj joined Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company (ADNH) in October 2016...

Najwa Attiga, a seasoned international corporate attorney, was headhunted by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council to become its first general counsel in 2008, where she established and managed the legal...

‘I have been very lucky to work with great leaders who supported me and mentored me in my professional journey’, says Narguiz Birk-Petersen when discussing the contributory factors that account...

Since his appointment in 2015 as Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA’s) chief legal officer, Nasser Al-Taweel has restructured the company’s legal operations to build an award winning well-respected legal team....

Formerly group general counsel of Ideal Standard International in Brussels, Neeta Thakur joined EFG Hermes in Dubai in 2015, leading legal operations for the company in the US, the UK,...

Coming off of a diverse and international legal career encompassing Russia and Ukraine, Oleksandra Storozhuk’s move to Five Holdings in January 2018 began an extremely successful portion of her career...

A qualified barrister, Oliver C. Hallsworth made the move to investment banking relatively early within his career, moving through Citibank, Lehman Brothers and UBS before reaching the Middle East in...

‘My job at Noor Bank has been unique, in that I joined the Bank prior to its formal launch to the public, and have therefore been responsible for creating the...

The go-to advisor for the CEOs and boards of the Air Arabia Group companies on laws, regulations and public policy, ethics and risk, Osama Romeih plays a central role in...

The FAST Consortium, one of three contracted to build the multi-billion dollar Riyadh Metro project, is led by Spanish construction major FCC Construccion. As such, Pablo Seijas Ameijide operates a...

In place at Engie in Dubai since 2012, Paul Kirkby is now responsible for more than 90 companies in the region and has revolutionised the way these entities are run:...

In the more than six years he has been at Waha Capital, Peter Howley has spearheaded a major expansion of the team’s abilities. ‘There has been a significant up-skilling of...

When asked about the future of the in-house legal profession, group head of legal and board secretary for GMG Dubai Pradeep Chandrasekharan says, ‘the role of the in-house legal [function]...

‘The ever-developing role of an in-house counsel has given me an opportunity to grow as a legal professional by ensuing the steps of first to listen, second to think, third...

With a project development track record which includes major programmes in Southeast Asia and Europe in the infrastructure, energy, healthcare, and logistics sectors, Alcazar Capital is among the most noteworthy...

In place at Arab Bank for Investment & Foreign Trade (Al Masraf) since 2008, Razi Heyasat brings unparalleled experience of the company’s operations to his role as head of the...

One of Reza Zaidi’s interesting roles prior to his current one, and one which he ranks among his favourites, came with start-up Gatehouse Bank in London: ‘I was employee number...

Richard McLaughlin is a highly experienced and industry-respected general counsel. Prior to becoming OOCEP’s general counsel in 2014, McLaughlin spent almost five years at Nabarro, then had a highly-successful nine...

Robert Habchi began his tenure at reinsurance leader Nasco Re in 2013 and progressed quickly, being made head of legal in 2017; he now oversees a team of eleven individuals...

In place at the company since 1999, Roger Tanios is absolutely central to the continued success of Indevco Group, Lebanon’s international packaging and household care disposables company. Providing legal support...

An expert energy lawyer, Rowan McBrien moved to Total as a senior legal counsel in 2011 and remembers his first major transaction with the company, the farm-in of 33.3% of...

A qualified advocate of the High Court of India and admitted to the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, Sai Dandekar has approximately 12 years of experience in dealing with...

An oil and energy specialist, Sandeep M. Chokshy enjoyed an extremely successful period with Baker Hughes from 2009 until 2014, first in India and then in Dubai, before joining leading...

Sandra Redding is no stranger to supporting extremely complex and high value transactions: ‘As legal counsel for RWE Dea (now Ineos), having responsibility for the legal work needed to bring...

Reflecting on his journey from international law firms in New York and Paris to the Alghanim Industries legal department in Kuwait, which he joined in 2007 and now leads, Santiago...

In terms of project work, Sari Kanaan says that recently his efforts as senior legal counsel for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey for AkzoNobel have mainly been concerned with...

An expert energy sector lawyer, Saud Al-Motawa spent five years with Kuwait Petroleum Corporation between 2008 and 2013 and is in his sixth year with Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company...

China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East (CSCEC ME)’s general counsel Sean D. Yates received high praise from a nominating source, who commented that ‘he stands apart from other general...

Shaun Johnson credits his time in private practice with Ashurst (formerly Blake Dawson) in Australia and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as having been instrumental in his later success as an in-house...

Simon Price originally moved to the Middle East in 2005 while on secondment to international security company Olive Group, joining the company full time once this expired. After impressing here,...

Steffen Feike is a dual-qualified German Rechtsanwalt (lawyer) and Solicitor of England and Wales with an industry focus on technology and engineering. He started off his career in Dubai with...

A landmark moment occurred for Qatar Rail in May 2019 when the first stations of the Doha Metro opened for business. The culmination of this project, which is among the...

Stuart Davies has practiced as a lawyer for over 20 years, an influential part of which was spent in private practice within Norton Rose’s corporate finance team in London, which...

Formerly a consultant specialising in intellectual property cases with Eversheds, a senior legal advisor at Saudi Mining Holding Company and general counsel with Ma’aden, Sultan Al Booq became general counsel...

In position as head of legal for the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey – as well as senior country counsel for Luxembourg – at JPMorgan Chase since 2012,...

During the course of his time with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Tarek Nakkach has guided his legal team to an extremely high level of service; it has received multiple internal...

Thomas Högfors has accomplished a great deal with ABB since joining in 2011. General counsel for ABB in UAE and its oversight countries (Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran,...

Associate general counsel for state-owned petroleum company Qatar Petroleum, an organisation which is responsible for all phases of the oil and gas industry in the country and which subsequently creates...

Starting his in-house career in 2010 with Qatar Development Bank where he was heading the company’s in-house department for six years, Toufic Abi Fadel followed this with a position as...

After graduating from the University of Oxford in 1995, Tsim Wharton embarked upon a private practice career before completing an MBA and taking on an in-house role before finally joining...

Varsha Gupta is a dual-qualified (India and England and Wales) corporate lawyer with 12 years of experience gained from an international law firm and, most recently, consumer goods giant Reckitt...

‘A regional legal role, covering many countries is always challenging, especially in its beginning, not only because of the different context that the countries we operate have, but because of...

Walid Ali Khalil joined the Kuwait-based, US$1bn market capitalisation Mezzan Holding Co in 2006 as senior legal assistant, and has proved an indispensable resource for the company’s in-house legal function...

Selected by leaders in the Middle East as the top line of business partner in 2015 and 2016 on the back of excellent assistance provided to colleagues, Yosr Hamza is...

Joining SEDCO Holding as a vice president in 2015 and promoted to chief legal officer in February 2017, Zaid Mahayni reports directly to the CEO and supervises a department composed...

Formerly a legal project manager for a UNODC project on human trafficking and a private practice lawyer, Zeina Abillamah joined the UAE Trading Group and moved to the Dubai in...