About

Airbus’ legal team for Africa and Middle East came into existence only recently, when the company decided to create dedicated teams for each region. At present the company employs a legal department of four lawyers supported by a network of business compliance representatives in the company’s smaller local offices.

The team’s remit is vast as it acts as a first point first port of call for local law inquiries and supports the group’s business activities in Africa and Middle East, in each case working in close coordination with the group’s divisional and headquarters’ legal teams. Over the last two years, the unit has spent considerable time and effort on integrating the existing regional lawyers and compliance managers into a dedicated Africa and Middle East legal team. ‘We have identified and delineated responsibilities between us and the group’s divisional and headquarter legal teams’, says security solutions legal head Dr. Raed Al-Saadouni. ‘We have successfully raised our team profile within the group’s legal function (in itself comprising 400 lawyers) and the various Airbus business lines that are active in Africa and the Middle East. It is fair to say that we are widely recognised as the main port of call for legal and compliance inquiries relating to the region’, he adds. Since 2017, the team has also impressed with its integration of new technology into its work by using a bespoke software for approving and recording corporate gifts and hospitality named G&H. This innovative tool allows managers to apply online for the requisite approvals and depending on the applicable threshold, their line managers as well as compliance manager will receive an automated notification to process the request. Information is centrally recorded and can be easily accessed and analysed thus ensuring transparency and traceability of G&H, which is a key element of most anti-corruption laws and regulations.

The team’s transactional work over the last two years has also been outstanding with praise received for the team’s instrumental role in supporting numerous commercial campaigns and bid processes, assisting three major campaigns and the settlement of a major government contract and advising Airbus’ strategy division on industrial cooperation initiatives and ongoing projects. The team has also been applauded for conducting face-to-face training sessions on various legal and compliance topics, supporting the implementation of a so-called ‘controlled business environment’ concept and advising the Airbus Corporate Foundation on various education projects. The team is led by Jan Knop- head of legal and compliance for Africa and Middle East, and Al-Saadouni – head of legal, security solutions. These professionals boast substantial experience of overseeing corporate legal processes in the region, and have been applauded for their work in restructuring Airbus Group’s legal footprint in the region. Their colleagues Remi Raidan and Thibaut Clement are motivated young lawyers who are described by Al-Saadouni as professionals who are ‘always in the learning curve and volunteer to provide support even in times of work overload’.