About

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 January 2010, Engel quickly made an impression and steadily rose through the ranks of the cash handling systems company; at the end of his time with the company approximately six years later he headed legal, compliance and risk for the Middle East and Africa. He then made the move to ABB in late 2015 and has performed similarly successfully there in the three-and-a-half years since. Now head of legal for the Middle East and Africa at ABB Power Grids, he takes on a diverse set of responsibilities. Notably, he has made significant improvements to the company’s in-house legal function. ‘I moved the legal function closer to the business’, he explains. ‘The legal department is now considered more as partners of business and has established itself as a point of contact for strategic and practical advice’. Going forward, Engel sees a more business-centric approach for in-house lawyers: ‘I see the future as more of a business partner role, with lawyers supporting the business and understanding customers and markets more than was traditionally the case. Also I believe that the use of legal tech will transform the in-house role’.