Team size: 80 legal and non-legal staff 

What are the key projects that you have been involved in over the past 12 months?

I have led a variety of strategic and major investment initiatives from a legal perspective, including Qatar Airways Group’s 25% investment in Virgin Australia in early 2025. I have also managed high-profile public disputes before the English High Court, the Australian High Court, the Court of Cassation in Qatar, and the US Supreme Court, including several multi-billion-dollar arbitration cases.

In addition, I have proactively led and managed a range of change management initiatives across the Qatar Airways Group to improve efficiencies and profitability. This has included implementing transformative corporate governance and compliance frameworks, fast-tracking contracting and procurement processes, and spearheading AI initiatives.

I have played a key role in various State of Qatar governmental matters, including negotiating the EU-Qatar and US open skies agreements, a first-of-its-kind globally, as well as supporting numerous matters within the State’s tourism portfolio.

As lead Compliance and Data Protection Officer, I have overseen GDPR compliance and data protection initiatives globally across the QR Group, ensuring robust policies and procedures are maintained throughout the organisation.

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?

As Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel, I act swiftly to mitigate risks while taking full account of the complex compliance and regulatory environment in which we operate as an airline. As a trusted adviser, I work closely with the leadership team to ensure full alignment across all operational aspects of the organisation. As a global airline, we have faced many challenges in recent years, including COVID-19 and geopolitical crises in neighbouring countries. We operate in an extremely dynamic environment, which demands fast decision-making as well as a high level of adaptability, flexibility and resilience.

What strategies do you employ to ensure the successful digital transformation of a legal department while maintaining compliance with your country’s data protection laws? 

At Qatar Airways Group, digital transformation is at the forefront of everything we do, from customer-facing initiatives to aircraft technical and operational matters, and, of course, the work we do as in-house lawyers. I am currently overseeing a range of initiatives that will transform the way we work. In particular, we have partnered with external organisations to develop and implement AI initiatives for the legal department, which will ultimately extend across various aspects of legal work, including contract drafting and contract review.

How do you prioritise diversity and inclusion within your legal department, and what initiatives have you implemented to foster a more inclusive work environment? 

Our group legal is a close-knit team comprised of lawyers from diverse backgrounds, bringing a wealth of skills, experience and knowledge to the department and the organisation. Our international team of lawyers has both common law and civil law backgrounds, with expertise in a wide range of areas including Corporate and M&A, Commercial and Contracts, Competition Law, Litigation (including Consumer Law), Aviation Law, IP, Governance, Compliance and Data Privacy.

We expose our lawyers to a wide variety of legal matters, including some ground-breaking initiatives in the aviation industry, providing the opportunity to work on transversal matters and continuously develop their skills and knowledge under the leadership of the legal department’s senior management team. Qatar Airways operates to over 80 countries and 170 international destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Oceania, giving our lawyers and staff excellent exposure to different jurisdictions.

We guide and support our lawyers with transparency and clear communication, enabling them to operate as a team with the knowledge that their work has meaning and purpose. There is a strong mentorship culture, allowing more junior lawyers to work closely with senior colleagues and gradually expand their roles within the division to take on more challenging tasks and responsibilities.