Career Biography

Zubair Hussain is vice-president, legal at SAF Group, a Canadian private credit platform providing direct lending and asset-based financing solutions to diversified businesses across Canada. Founded in 2014, the firm has built a reputation for disciplined investing, creative structuring and long-term partnership, with a focus on expanding Canadian investment opportunities. As SAF’s senior legal executive, Zubair leads the firm’s legal, risk and compliance functions and plays a central role in transaction execution, governance, regulatory oversight and enterprise risk management. He advises SAF’s senior leadership and investment teams on commercially grounded solutions across the firm’s transactional, operational, regulatory and strategic priorities.

Zubair advises across the full investment lifecycle, including structuring, diligence, execution, portfolio management, amendments, restructurings and realisations. His work spans complex private credit and structured capital transactions, cross-border investments across Canada and the United States, distressed situations, court-supervised restructurings and matters involving highly regulated or rapidly evolving industries. He also advises on fund governance, corporate matters, regulatory compliance, dispute strategy and insurance. Working closely with SAF’s investment, operations, executive and external legal teams, he integrates legal, commercial, regulatory and risk considerations into decision-making so the firm can execute efficiently while maintaining disciplined governance and risk controls.

At SAF, Zubair has helped build a legal and compliance function capable of supporting the pace and complexity of a growing national investment platform. He has advanced the development of complex governance frameworks, strengthened SAF’s approach to external counsel management, expanded its internal legal and compliance capabilities, and supported the responsible adoption of technology and artificial intelligence to improve efficiency, consistency and knowledge management. He focuses on embedding legal and risk analysis early in decision-making and ensuring the legal function operates as a practical, integrated partner to the business.

Zubair brings broad private practice experience spanning commercial litigation, corporate and transactional matters and financial services. At a prominent regional firm, he represented clients in complex commercial disputes, appeared before all three levels of court in Alberta and before regulatory tribunals, and advised on corporate and transactional matters. He later practised in the financial services group of a Tier 1 national law firm, advising on financing transactions.

Zubair holds a JD/MBA from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Arts, criminal justice, in honours, from Mount Royal University. His multidisciplinary background enables him to bring together legal, commercial, and risk perspectives in a practical and collaborative way, supporting SAF’s continued growth and investment activity.