Riyadh: Corporate Structuring Considerations from a Saudi and International Perspective

Omer Saleem has 14 plus years of experience in the finance sector, specifically financial valuations, management & internal strategy. He has added value in operations and strategy arenas at some of the biggest players in the industry like Goldman Sachs and Credit Agricole. His area of expertise is in financial markets specifically in valuations, financial management (cash flow management, expense analysis, budgeting & forecasting), strategy development, change management and client relationship management. He has operational and managerial experience in these areas. In addition, he has been through multiple M&As which have added to his skills set in short & long-term business strategy development, business process improvement and restructuring. His work experience is complemented by an MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Asad Khan is the Chief Economist and Head of Economic Research at Jadwa Investment, where he covers economic and energy-related developments in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. Prior to this, he worked at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, in London, as an Associate Director in the Oil & Gas team, covering the EMEA region. Asad holds a BSc in Economics from the School of Oriental & African Studies (University of London) and has extensive experience in economic-related research positions within Investment Banking, Retail Banking and Real Estate sectors, in addition to working within the UK Civil Service.

Jochen Hundt is a German legal and business consultant, managing partner and founder of Hundt & Partners Legal and Business Advisory. Jochen was born in 1969 in Landshut, on the outskirts of Munich. Hundt Legal established an ever-expanding litigation and arbitration practice in 2018 when KSA lawyer Nouf Al-Qahtani joined. In 2020, Hundt Legal then acquired the Middle East Practice of German management consulting group Scheer and was rebranded into Hundt & Partners Legal & Business Advisory. Hundt & Partners are today running a legal and tax advisory practice out of Riyadh, with a team of seven, and a management consulting practice out of Jeddah, with a team of four. Jochen has published many articles in regional and international reviews, and he is a frequent speaker at conferences both in the MENA region and in Europe. He is also a founding member of several lawyers' and business organizations. In Riyadh, Jochen is advising over a dozen western embassies and foreign trade missions.

Bashar is the Managing Director of Crestbridge Bahrain B.S.C (c); he has extensive experience in Trust and Financial services. With over 30 years’ experience in the region, Bashar has a strong track record in developing relationships with financial institutions, UHNW families and institutional investors. He has a wealth of experience, most recently as a private consultant, and previously as the former CEO of Intertrust Bahrain, Director at Credit Suisse, Regional Head Private Banking for Arab Bank Group, and UBS Merrill Lynch before that. He is responsible for the growth strategy and performance of our Bahrain office in addition to business development activity in the Middle East.

Mohammed is an expert in Islamic finance with work experience of over 12 years in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was one of the establishment team joining Alinma bank in Riyadh at Shariah Group and enhanced his experience in the Shariah team at Gatehouse Bank in London. He focused on the wealth management structure, his interest subject is debt structuring in shariah-compliant methods. He was awarded his PhD degree in Sukuk risk structure analysis from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. Mohammed contributed with academic research in Sukuk that was published in Academic journals in the USA and the UK. In 2011, Saudi diversified manufacturing company (SABIC) research chair selected Mohammed’s Master's dissertation for their accepted research plus published and funded by the SABIC. In addition, Mohammed participated in many global conferences presenting papers on Islamic finance.

Farida started her career at Intertrust in 2013 and holds a master’s degree in civil law from the University of Amsterdam. After her study she worked as a paralegal at a Dutch law firm and later joined Intertrust where she fulfilled the role of Senior Relationship Manager and Commercial Executive with a focus on the Middle East. In 2018 she was seconded to Intertrust Dubai to focus on business development in the region. In 2021 she returned to the Middle East to take on the role of Country General Manager of our offices in the DIFC and the ADGM. As a Country General Manager, she is responsible of managing our office with a team of professionals who are providing Corporate, Trustee and Fund Administration services to our clients in the region.

Rizwan specialises in Corporate Law and has experience in advising on complex cross-border transactions in the oil & gas, mining, trading, transport and logistic sectors. Rizwan advises clients of all business sizes from small and medium size institutions to multinational corporations providing them with a comprehensive full legal service. He has also assisted a large number of clients across all industries in connection with setting up and franchising their business in Saudi Arabia. With over 12 years' experience in the market, five of which are in Saudi Arabia, specialising in all aspects of corporate matters including foreign direct investments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, joint ventures, and investment funds.