About

It is fair to say that Oliver Hallsworth has had a unique career for an in-house lawyer – his experience spans from the UK Bar, to investment banking in Jersey, to commercial banking in the Middle East. Even after qualifying as a barrister with Lincoln’s Inn in UK, Hallsworth quickly realised that the fast-paced world of investment banking was where he wanted to start his career. After in-house legal roles at Citibank (2000-2002), Lehman Brothers (2002-2005) and UBS (2005-2012), he made the significant change of moving to Qatar to take up the mantle of senior legal counsel at Al Khalij Commercial Bank – a next generation bank offering products to business, corporate and international clients in Qatar, UAE and France. Making this move was definitely beneficial to Hallsworth, adding to his existing expertise as well as generating new skills that would be essential in the different business environments across the Middle East. He says that his initial period at Al Khalij involved ‘learning and understanding the way in which business is done in the Middle East, which is very different approach to the European one. You have to expect a top down approach and be prepared to share your views and spend time in building a long lasting relationship with your manager’. There was also the difference in the speed of regulatory change – described as a ‘slow burn’ – to contend with. Regardless of the differences, Hallsworth has excelled in his Middle Eastern career, and in August 2016 he became managing director at ADS Securities, the Middle East’s leading forex brokerage. This role, based out of Abu Dhabi, sees him manage all legal, commercial, regulatory, compliance and brand protection matters for ADS. Hallsworth’s career can be defined by its international scope, as well as the number of landmark successes he has stimulated along the way, but his self-selected career highlights are ones that many would consider high-pressured and stressful – but this is an environment that he thrives in. In his top three moment in his career so far he includes working on the Wembley Stadium financing as a junior lawyer, overseeing the ‘structuring and financing by a syndicate of a US$1bn sale and lease back of 9 Boeing 777s for an ambitious regional airline in 2015’, and ‘managing… a FATCA US Department of Justice audit in conjunction with their forensic KPMG audit team and obtaining a clean bill of health’. Considering his ceaseless ability to innovate and his gift for applying legal knowledge for commercial gain, Hallsworth has featured in the GC Powerlist: Middle East for three consecutive years.