About

Simon Price originally moved to the Middle East in 2005 while on secondment to international security company Olive Group, joining the company full time once this expired. After impressing here, he joined Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) in 2008 as general counsel and its first in-house counsel, with this role extending in 2011 to encompass the company secretary role at ExCeL London, which ADNEC acquired in 2008. ‘This has led to a breadth of additional experiences and relationships at board level, and provided a good insight into corporate governance both from a subsidiary and a shareholder perspective. The role also includes oversight of certain sensitive or critical legal issues’, Price says of this expansion of his responsibilities. His time with ADNEC has been extremely successful, with his construction, expansion and continued leadership of the company’s legal function a major feat, and Price provides further detail on just some of the projects he has been involved with recently: ‘ADNEC’s catering arm, Capital Hospitality, is expanding rapidly and the legal team has assisted this growth by establishing a legal presence for the business in other parts of the UAE and on advising on key contracts with Abu Dhabi Formula 1, the FIFA Club World Cup, Costa and Starbucks. ADNEC’s event’s business is also growing and the legal team has supported the establishment of the Abu Dhabi International Boat Show which was launched in October 2018 and on a strategic partnership with British Marine, the organises of the London Boat Show’.