Career Biography

As Head of Legal for Deutsche Bank’s Middle East & Africa region, Hultum provides support to the bank across the full spectrum of its regional business activities (comprising its Investment Bank, Corporate Bank, Private Bank and Asset Management business divisions) together with the bank’s Regional Management and Infrastructure functions. The team supports legal entities across 14 offices in the region, located in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, South Africa, Qatar, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Nigeria, respectively.

Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Hultum worked in private practice for Clifford Chance’s M&A/Private Equity teams in both London and Hong Kong. With over 18 years’ experience gained in both private practice and in-house roles, he is regularly recognised as one of the region’s most influential in-house counsel.

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

I am proud to have worked on a number of significant transactions and initiatives which have contributed to the success of both the bank (from a financial, strategic and sustainability perspective) and the wider community in which it operates. In the past 12 months alone these have included cross-border M&A advisory mandates in emerging technology sectors such as AI and cloud enterprise software, new branch openings to strengthen the bank’s commitment to the region and its local client base, landmark capital market and trade finance transactions to finance economic development initiatives and key infrastructure projects in Africa, complex regulatory licensing matters, end-to-end office relocation projects, and innovative payment solutions for new economy clients.

What do you think are the most important attributes for a modern in-house counsel to possess?

Modern in-house counsel needs to act as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to their internal stakeholders, as well as a navigator and manager of all forms of risk, combining key legal expertise with business acumen and commercial foresight. In an environment where many in-house legal teams are under increasing pressure to do more with less, all while continuing to keep costs firmly under control, it is imperative that the modern in-house counsel continues to meet expectations to go beyond technical legal expertise and purely legal risk management. Resilience, adaptability and an innovative mindset also remain key attributes for in-house counsel to thrive in fast-moving and complex business/regulatory environments, managing ever-increasing and competing priorities, and demonstrating the ability to drive efficiencies using emerging technology tools.

Based on your experiences in the past year, are there any trends in the legal or business world that you are keeping an eye on, of which you think other in-house lawyers should be mindful?

Undoubtedly, AI is rapidly emerging as a key legal trend that in-house lawyers across all industries and jurisdictions should closely monitor, both for the opportunities it creates, as well as the risks that it equally introduces. It is no longer a potential disruptor but an immediate and complex trend that is already driving efficiency and innovation. With companies increasingly adopting AI tools for tasks such as contract review, compliance monitoring and data analysis, this can obviously help to streamline operations and reduce costs, but it also raises issues around accountability, data protection, regulatory compliance and reputational risk. As global regulatory frameworks around AI continue to be built, in-house legal teams will equally need to assess how these evolving rules apply to their own organisation’s use and development of AI, and how they can create effective governance models to police it.