What are the most significant cases and/or transactions that you have been involved in over the past year?

Since joining the King Salman Park Foundation (KSPF) in December 2024, I have been directly involved in negotiating the financing, construction and commercial arrangements for one of the largest city parks in the world, comprising of 16 km2 of green space and surroundings designated for residential and commercial real estate, along with a range of artistic, cultural and sporting attractions.

Prior to that, I had served as the CLO of the Saudi Arabian Military Industries Co (SAMI) for the period between 2021-2024, where I had successfully: led the negotiations and closing of nine joint ventures with global defense and aerospace OEMs, including Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, MBDA, Thales, General Dynamics and others; led the acquisition of four major businesses to supplement SAMI’s capabilities and upgrade the Kingdom’s defense systems; and secured a favourable ruling from the EU Competition Authority, which enabled SAMI to assert full independence for merger control purposes from its sole shareholder, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), resulting in estimated savings of circa SAR 160m between 2022-2024, representing the cost of filing for antitrust approvals in various foreign jurisdictions.

The landmark acquisition of AlSalam Aerospace International (AAI), which closed in February 2024, was by all accounts the most significant transaction in the local aerospace sector to date and a turning point in SAMI’s efforts to upgrade its aerospace capabilities. Established by Boeing, Saudia and other investors in 1988, AAI had been the leading airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service provider for KSA and the GCC region for nearly 30 years, servicing multiple platforms that are used by the Royal Saudi Airforce, including F-15, C-130, Tornado, AWACs and others. It offered world-class manufacturing, maintenance and technical support capabilities that are certified by both the US and Saudi Air forces.

The acquisition was ultimately hailed by various national agencies (including the Ministry of Defence, the General Authority for Military Industries, the General Authority for Commercial Aviation, the Ministries of Industry and Investment, and others) as a major leap forward in the Kingdom’s efforts to develop its local aerospace capabilities and maintain sovereignty over its air force readiness and national security. 

As a direct result of the foregoing efforts, SAMI clinched a first for the Arab world in 2022: the company became the first Arab corporation to break into the top 100 global defense companies in terms of revenue, surpassing companies that are well established for decades in this sector. Today, the company ranks in the top 75 and is on-track to break into the top 25 by 2030.

What do you think are the key things to remember to motivate and manage the other members of your legal team?

For any CLO or legal manager, I think it’s important to recognise the constantly evolving nature of the business and, thus, the importance of adopting a proactive strategy to manage legal risks and operations. In my view, such strategy should be developed and periodically refined through a sequence of deliberate steps in an effort to continuously refine the legal operating model. The first step entails an assessment of the company’s current and emerging needs by incorporating feedback from client interviews, surveys, benchmarks and operational data. The second step involves identifying the emerging trends, strengths and pain-points based on the foregoing assessment, which can be incorporated into the target-state legal operating model.

The third step involves designing and prioritising the actionable recommendations based on the long-term objectives of the organisation and the associated demands for legal services.

The fourth and final step involves staffing, monitoring and supporting working teams from within the legal department to implement the recommendations and initiatives.

When performed annually, this sequence creates as a positive feedback loop that ensures legal operations work in-tandem and evolve in-line with with the company’s strategic priorities and commercial activities.

What is a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about, and why?

In 2021, I decided to run for, and was ultimately elected as, President of the Saudi Judo Federation. As a former athlete and a life-long practitioner of Judo, I am naturally drawn to the sport, but my real passion lies in teaching Judo to children and the inclusion of women in our schools, clubs and national development programs. I’m a big believer in combat sports, particularly Judo, as a great metaphor for life: through hard work and dedication, we learn self-discipline and mutual-respect towards each other while also striving to become the best versions of ourselves. Such qualities are much needed in today’s polarised world; and my dream is for every child in Saudi Arabia to try Judo at least once and experience this directly.

Today, we have over 120 Judo clubs in Saudi Arabia (up from 24 clubs when I started in 2021), with a significant portion accepting girls at all ages. We are also working with the Ministry of Education on incorporating Judo in the official school curriculum and offering academic scholarships for young athletes to train abroad in universities renowned for their academic and Judo excellence. Such efforts, amongst others, have culminated in the International Judo Federation (IJF) awarding our national federation the ‘Judo for Peace’ award in 2022 – a testament to the great strides Saudi Judo has made to date and a vote of confidence for the potential we carry in the future.