About

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 significant exposure across the Middle East and North Africa regions via handling legal matters on behalf of both law firms and major financial institutions such as Investors Bank, Alubaf Arab International Bank and Ithmaar Bank. Now head of legal for INOVEST, he also serves as a member of the company’s management committee. Having originally gained qualifications in Sudan, Elnasri began his professional career in Bahrain and had to hit the ground running in a new culture, but the ‘very long path’ from this point to his current role has allowed him to become highly adept at a wide range of legal areas, as well as making him the lawyer he is today. His leadership of INOVEST’s legal team has also been remarkable, with his drafting of a new legal policy ‘based on the needs of other departments’ alongside a comprehensive review of agreements with external law firms bearing dividends. ‘As a result of this the guaranteed period of time in which legal advice is to be given to the company is now three times better than what it was at the start of my tenure’, he says.