Group General Counsel & Secretary to the Board
BFC Group Holdings
Bahrain
A results-driven General Counsel & Board Secretary with 20 years of experience in corporate governance, regulatory compliance, M&A, and strategic legal advisory within international banking, financial services, and payments industries. Adept at leading high-stakes negotiations, structuring complex cross-border transactions, and ensuring regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions, including the GCC, EU, MENA and Asia.
As a trusted strategic advisor to boards, executives, and regulators, I specialise in navigating regulatory complexities, mitigating legal and reputational risks, and enhancing corporate governance frameworks to drive business continuity and sustainable growth. My expertise spans financial transactions, fintech regulations, risk management, AML/KYC compliance, and corporate restructuring.
Key strengths include:
– Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A): Led multimillion-dollar M&A transactions, overseeing legal due diligence, structuring, and post-merger integration.
– Regulatory & Compliance Leadership: Spearheaded compliance strategies, ensuring adherence to Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), FCA, and other regulatory bodies.
– Corporate Governance & Board Advisory: Served as Board Secretary, driving governance best practices, shareholder communications, and regulatory reporting.
– Data Privacy & Cybersecurity: Designed and implemented enterprise-wide data protection frameworks, ensuring compliance with global data privacy laws.
– Strategic Risk Management: Advised on complex legal risk mitigation, including litigation strategy, dispute resolution, and fraud investigations.
– Legal Tech & Innovation: Passionate about leveraging legal technology to streamline compliance and risk functions for financial institutions.
– Deal negotiation, contract drafting and advising on treasury products and capital markets.
– Specialties: Commercial Law, Banking Law, Dispute Resolution, Company & Fund Formation, Strategic M&A, Structured Finance, Capital Markets, Fixed Income
– High premium on providing preemptive legal support in Arabic or English.
– Aligning legal strategy with business objectives to facilitate growth and operational resilience.
– Influential leadership.