JUDGING PANEL 

Each year, ALB invites an independent judging panel of senior and expert legal industry leaders from various sectors corresponding to the diverse list of award categories. ALB is pleased to introduce some of the distinguished judges. The rest of the panel will be revealed on the evening of the awards.

Ahmad Al Aseh
Head Of Legal - Middle East, CEVA Logistics

Ahmad is based in Dubai holding the position of Middle East Head of Legal at CEVA Logistics a part of CMA CGM Group. Prior to his current position, Ahmad served as the Legal Manager of the Middle East at CEVA Logistics in Istanbul. In his current role, Ahmad oversees all legal matters across 16 different legal jurisdictions in the Middle East region. 

Ahmad has over 13 years of experience as an in-house and private practice lawyer working across Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Previous positions include being the Legal Head for a prestigious perfume French company, and a Legal Advisor at Christopher & Lee Ong; a member of Rajah & Tann Asia, Kuala Lumpur Office.

Working in different parts of the world, Ahmad has gained international legal experience ranging in Corporate Governance; Corporate Law; Intellectual Property Law; Shipping & Logistics Law; dispute resolution; and contract law at both Common and Civil law systems.

Brian Dunn
Head of Legal & Compliance – Unifonic

As Head of Legal & Compliance for one of the fastest growing technology start-ups in the Middle East, Brian is responsible for Unifonic’s legal affairs, compliance, and regulatory affairs, including contract management and negotiation, data protection, intellectual property, regulatory compliance, litigation, M&A, and legal operations. He also assumes the corporate secretary duties for the Group.

He was brought to Unifonic at the beginning of 2021 for the purpose of using his experience to establish and build the in-house legal and compliance functions for Unifonic, including the development and management of those teams.

Prior to joining Unifonic, Brian spent four years working at another regional tech company, Property Finder, where he was the Vice President of Legal. His role at Property Finder began as sole counsel, and eventually evolved into the building and management of the legal team. Another large portion of his career was spent working in private practice in New York and Dubai, with a focus on corporate and commercial law, corporate succession planning, and personal and corporate tax planning. Much of his experience has involved the representation of SMEs. Before moving to Dubai in 2016, Brian served on the Board of Directors of several organizations and charities.

Brian is a native of New York, where he is licensed to practice law. He received a B.A. from Siena College, and his Juris Doctor degree from Albany Law School of Union University.

Maria Kavaratzis
General Counsel, the ENTERTAINER

Maria Kavaratzis is the General Counsel of the ENTERTAINER, the leading rewards and loyalty solutions provider across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. With over 20 years’ experience gained in private practice and in-house roles, Maria has provided her expertise in notable transactions, iconic projects and law reform initiatives. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Sydney and a Diploma in Legal Practice from The College of Law, Sydney. Maria is admitted as a solicitor and barrister in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the High Court of Australia. She has held a number of General Counsel positions in a variety of industries in Australia and the Middle East. As General Counsel of the ENTERTAINER since 2016 and having established its legal department, she leads a team of dedicated lawyers responsible for all legal, governance and compliance for the ENTERTAINER globally. Maria was the winner of the "In House Lawyer of the Year" award and the ENTERTAINER team were finalists of the "Technology, Media & Telecommunications In House Team of the Year" at the inaugural 2021 Thomson Reuters' Asian Legal Business Middle East Law Awards.

Mark Hultum
Head of Legal MEA, Deutsche Bank

Mark leads Deutsche Bank’s regional legal function as the principal manager of legal risk across all of its activities in the Middle East & Africa region, advising the bank’s Corporate Bank, Investment bank and Private Bank business units, as well as its Regional Management and Infrastructure Functions. He is regularly recognised as one of the region’s most influential in-house counsel, including as a member of Legal 500’s GC Powerlist Middle East. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Mark worked in Clifford Chance’s M&A and Private Equity teams in both London and Hong Kong.

Mohamad AlDarwish
Regional Legal Director, Carrier

Mohamad is a Lebanese lawyer with over 17 years of experience in Litigation, M&A, IPOs, and commercial law. Mohamad started his career as an attorney in Lebanon, then moved to Saudi Arabia advising clients on major merger and acquisitions, IPOs, and corporate restructuring. Currently, Mohamd is the regional legal director for Carrier, the leading HVAC manufacturer, and based in Dubai. Besides his LLB, Mohamad holds an EMBA from Hult International Business School, and has several publications.

Nadim El Haj
Head of Legal, Abu Dhabi National Hotels

A result driven and strategic executive with in-depth expertise in launching/rolling-out multi-billion dollars businesses in the Real Estate Development, Hospitality, Leisure, Retail, TMT and Education industries in the UAE/MENA region. Nadim took on lead roles in negotiating and closing mega transactions which encompassed structuring and closing major acquisitions of prime/trophy hospitality & leisure assets, real estate developments, retail, TMT and education projects in the MENA Region and on an international scale.

Nadim has gained over more than two decades of work on groundbreaking projects in both, the Government sector and private sector in the UAE, in his capacity as General Counsel/Board Secretary and ExCo. member, a high level of critical analysis coupled with a 360-degree strategic overview of complex transactions. Such knowledge allows Nadim to negotiate complex transactions while ensuring all critical matters are covered from inception up to closing and stretching up to post-closing integration requirements thus securing the investment at hand and maximizing shareholders’ equity.

Nadim was ranked by “The Legal 500” as one of the most influential general counsels in the Middle East in recognition of his major successes during his tenure at ADNH including the steering of the negotiation and closing of AED 2.2 B acquisition of 5 EMAAR hotel assets in Downtown Burj Khalifa in a record 3 months’ time and was therefore featured in the “Legal 500 GC Powerlist Middle East 2019.” The aforesaid strategic acquisition is considered as one of the biggest M&A deals in the UAE hospitality sector. Nadim was recently re-hired by ADNH in support to its ambitious expansion plan to the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah that was recently announced consisting of more than AED 1 B luxury resort development project on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah that will comprise 1000 rooms in addition to its announced global expansion plan.

Nadim strongly believes that teamwork and collaborative success are key to laying down solid foundations for success and sustainable growth. Nadim is a strong advocate of a “people first” corporate culture as instrumental to transformational change in any organization

Zaid Gardner
General Counsel, Property Finder

Zaid leads the Legal team, and has overall responsibility for all legal, compliance and corporate governance matters across the Property Finder Group. Having worked in international law firms and as a senior in-house legal advisor for leading multinational corporations operating in the Middle East and Turkey, South Africa and Hong Kong, Zaid brings vast experience to the Property Finder executive leadership team. His diverse skill set and distinct perspective means that he is a valuable thought partner to the business as Property Finder continues with its targeted growth and expansion plans.

Winnie R. Lardizabal-Morales
Deputy General Counsel
ENGIE Asia, Middle East & Africa 

Winnie is the Deputy General Counsel of ENGIE Asia-Pacific Middle East Africa (AMEA) Regional Hub and is currently based in Dubai, U.A.E.  ENGIE is a global leader in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, renewable energy, natural gas, and client solutions, headquartered in La Défense, Courbevoie, France. Winnie has been with ENGIE since 2015, starting with ENGIE Philippines as senior legal counsel, then transferring to ENGIE Asia-Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand and later on moving to Singapore where she held the role of Deputy General Counsel-Interim General Counsel of ENGIE Asia Pacific, before assuming her new role in the ENGIE Dubai office.  Prior to joining ENGIE, Winnie started as an associate/senior associate in various top tier law firms in the Philippines. She then became the head of legal and compliance of CalEnergy RHQ (now, Berkshire Hathaway Energy) and thereafter assumed the role of General Counsel of Enfinity Asia-Pacific RHQ, both of which were engaged in the management, operation, maintenance, acquisition, and development of renewable energy projects in Asia-Pacific. Winnie’s legal practice is primarily focused on corporate/commercial, tax, and power/energy law related matters.

and many more...