What are the major cases or transactions you have been involved in recently?

Project Galaxy consisted in the segregation of restaurants business from the food business and eliminating any cross-equities. Project Junoon entailed the listing of the restaurant business (first and only dually listed entity in the region). We also achieved the disposal of a number of non-core assets of Americana and the acquisition of the brand California Gardens in the US. We are currently working on a number of transformation initiatives and IPO readiness of the food business.

How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organisation’s resilience?

I identify potential legal vulnerabilities across operations, collaborate with leadership to simulate crisis scenarios and develop legal response protocols, ensuring readiness, ensure legal is represented in strategic discussions, adapt compliance programs to shifting regulatory landscapes, especially in multi-jurisdictional environments, establish clear escalation protocols and decision rights for legal matters during emergencies Also, by ensuring swift and accountable actions, guiding crisis communications to ensure legal accuracy and protect brand reputation, engaging with regulators, shareholders, and partners to maintain trust and demonstrate proactive approach, ensuring robust data governance and use AI tools to automate as much as possible, training and empowering the legal team to act decisively under pressure and conducting post-crisis legal audits to identify gaps and improve future resilience.

What factors influence your team’s decision to use external legal services versus handling matters in-house, and what criteria are used to evaluate their performance?

Two primary factors determine if a matter needs to be outsourced: time sensitivity, and expertise required. The criteria used to evaluate externals’ performance include the value derived from their input and the timely delivery and responsiveness and the proactive management of the relationship.

What emerging technologies do you see as having the most significant impact on the legal profession in the near future, and how do you stay updated on these developments?

Most of the tools currently used are in-house procured or built with IT’s support. Currently, considering a number of AI solutions tailored towards Americana’s need in areas of contract automation, archiving, litigation, IP management and governance and board management. IP portfolio is outsourced to a UK based smart hub and is constantly being evaluated for its value and performance.