Speakers

​Dr Abdul Raouf is a seasoned legal and business advisor with over 24 years of experience. He is currently the General Counsel at Abraj, overseeing the Legal, Quality, and Compliance Departments and leading all strategic corporate governance and tactical legal initiatives. Dr Abdul Roaouf has notably played a key role in managing the legal aspects of the recent IPO of Abraj. Prior to joining Abraj, Dr Abdul Raouf worked at a number of other organisations including the Ministry of Interior. He is a graduate of the High Jurisprudence Institute in Oman and holds an LLM degree from the Queen’s University Belfast and a PhD from the International Islamic University Malaysia. Dr Abdul Raouf is also an accredited arbitrator.

Ahmed has over 11 years of experience and is currently an in-house lawyer at Omantel. He previously worked at a number of companies in Oman before joining Omantel in 2016. Dr Ahmed holds an LLM and a PhD from the University of Pittsburg in Pennsylvania, United States. He is also a member of a national negotiation team at the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit.

Mohamed Al-Tai is the Legal Counsel at Decree. Prior to working at Decree, Mohammed worked for over 4 years as a lawyer for the government of Oman and in a state-owned enterprise in the aviation sector. His areas of subject matter expertise include transport, construction, and public international law. He holds an LLB from the University of Hull, and an LLM from Queen Mary, University of London.

Ali is a Legal Counsel with over 18 years of legal experience. He started his career as a Legal Researcher at the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs where his responsibilities included advising the Government on various types of contractual arrangements such as construction of infrastructure projects, IWPP Projects, oil and gas concession agreements (EPSAs) and management of public facilities, contractual disputes, as well as international agreements. Ali was appointed as Head of Contracts between 2012-2017. In 2017, Ali moved to Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) where he first joined the Contracting and Procurement Legal Team. Then, he assumed different roles such as Legal Counsel for the New Business Development team, Acting Head of Contracting and Procurement Legal, Acting Head of Ethics and Compliance. In 2020, Ali was appointed as Head of Commercial Legal Team responsible for corporate and concession agreements related matters, CCUS and renewable energy, PDO Services LLC, HSE, and human resources.

Amira Taqi Al-Lawati is a corporate and commercial lawyer with extensive experience advising public and private organisations in the telecom, banking, and mining sectors. She has over 10 years of experience where she served as a practising lawyer as well as a legal advisor and in-house counsel and currently leads the legal team at Minerals Development Oman.

Asad is a leading senior capital markets, banking and finance, natural resources and corporate/commercial lawyer and, in addition to practising law in Oman, is qualified to practice law in England and Wales, as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and in Pakistan, as an Advocate of the High Courts of Pakistan. With over 22 years of experience gained in the Sultanate of Oman, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, Mr. Qayyum leads the multi-award winning boutique law firm, MAQ Legal (Al Maamary, Al Abri & Co.), and has had the privilege of acting for the Government of the Sultanate of Oman, the Oman Investment Authority, Energy Development Oman, Total S.A., Oman Air SAOC, OQ SAOC, OQ Gas Networks SAOG, Abraj Energy Services SAOG, almost all of the banks in Oman and an enviable roster of other clients. Mr. Qayyum is a highly regarded and ranked lawyer in all major publications and has had the distinct privilege of advising on a vast majority of debt capital market issuances in the Sultanate of Oman. Mr. Qayyum also led the Capital Markets Team at MAQ Legal on the successful IPOs of OQ Gas Networks SAOG and Abraj Energy Services SAOG with the distinction of being the only firm that advised on all IPOs in Oman in 2023.

Haitham Al Lawati is an Omani qualified lawyer with around 13 years of experience. He currently acts as OQ Gas Networks SAOG Head of Legal and Compliance as well as Board Secretary. During his tenure at OQGN, Haitham has played a key role in restructuring the legal framework of the gas transmission business and gas market in Oman. He also assisted in securing significant financial facilities of portfolio of approximately 3 billion dollars, containing multi-structure and mutli-currency facilities, including the largest Islamic syndicate in Oman. Haitham was also a key member in the OQGN IPO, the largest IPO in Oman’s capital market. He brings a well-rounded perspective to his practice, having previously worked for the Ministry of Finance where he supported the Debt Management Office and Treasury Department initiatives, and as a lecturer in Omani Commercial Law at the Modern College of Business and Science.

Mubarak started his legal career at the Ministry of Legal Affairs in 2011. He swiftly ascended to pivotal roles such as Acting Director of Treaties and International Cooperation Directorate in 2015 and subsequently appointed as the Director of Contracts Directorate in 2018. Over a decade of working with the Ministry, he represented the Government in multiple forums both nationally and internationally as well as being a member of committees such as the Board of Directors of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) & Joint Management Committee of the EPSA related to Blocks 3 & 4. Since June 2021, Mubarak has been working with Oman Airports Management Company S.A.O.C in the capacity of “Director of Legal Affairs”. With seven civil airports being operated by his company and three subsidiaries, Mubarak has been playing a key role in addressing the legal needs of Oman Airports. In addition to his daily roles, Mubarak is a member of the Procurement Committee and CSR Committee as well as the Grievance Committee of Oman Ground Handling Company which is a subsidiary of Oman Airports. Mubarak holds a Bachelor of Arts in Law and International Relations from Coventry University in the UK a Master of Law with honours in Public International Law from the University of Kent in 2010.

Praveen is a Senior Manager at PwC Middle East, specializing in Data Privacy. He has led large and complex engagements for Middle East clients, including the establishment of data protection regulators, implementation of enterprise-wide data privacy programmes, and strengthening cybersecurity controls. In Oman, Praveen is currently leading engagements to help large organizations to comply with Oman Personal Data Protection Law. Praveen holds a Masters in Information Systems Management from Warwick University, England, and a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Anna University, India. He is a CISSP, FIP, CIPP/E and CIPM.

Riyadh is the Chief Executive Officer at Decree. Prior to working at Decree, he worked for over 16 years as a legal advisor in the Ministry of Legal Affairs and later its successor the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs. His areas of subject matter expertise include public international law, technology law, and intellectual property. He holds an LLB from the University of Cardiff, an LLM in IT and Commerce from Southampton University, and a PhD from SOAS, University of London.

Tarek is a Special Counsel at SASLO’s Dispute Resolution Practice, where he leads the litigation team and advises clients on Oman Labour Law and employment matters. He has over 20 years of experience in civil, commercial, labour, and insurance litigation across Oman, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. He has also served as a legal advisor to various governmental entities and private firms, such as the Lebanese Minister of Finance, the Insurance Control Commission, and AL Tayyar law firm in Saudi Arabia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law and a master’s degree in history and international relations from Lebanese universities. He is a member of the Beirut Bar Association and a Leading Individual by the Legal 500. He speaks Arabic, English and French.

Tom is a partner at Trowers & Hamlins and is the current Resident Managing Partner of the Oman Office. Tom specialises in the energy sector and co-leads the firm’s International Projects, Energy and Infrastructure team. He specifically works on power generation and transmission, water and infrastructure development projects along with oil and gas work. Tom is based in Oman but has worked in the firm’s offices throughout the Middle East.

Yousuf is the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors at Decree and a Senior Legal Counsel at Asyad. He is an Oman and English-law qualified lawyer with over 10 years of experience working for the government of Oman, in private practice, and in state-owned enterprises in the power, water, and logistics sectors. His areas of subject matter expertise include power projects, water desalination projects, climate change, and corporate governance. He holds an LLB from the University of Hull, an LLM in International Commercial Law from the University of Birmingham, and an MBA from Waseda University in Japan.