Raya Alkhatib

I am a Corporate partner and I will be heading the Corporate practice in our Riyadh office.

My experience includes advising international and local clients on various corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, general corporate advice, formation of companies, initial public offering transactions, rights issue and real estate investment funds.

Before joining Bird & Bird, I worked as General Counsel, Governance Officer and Board Secretary at American Express Saudi Arabia in Riyadh. My three roles included advising on day-to-day legal affairs, such as general corporate matters, debt collection, employment legal issues, finance and payment services, co-brand agreements, on-boarding Amex cards as a form of payment on multinational and local websites, and advising on partnerships with local banks. I was also in charge of supervising, ensuring and enforcing compliance with the corporate governance regulations. I was the legal advisor to the Board and the relevant stakeholder in addition to being the Board secretary and attending to Board matters in that regard.

Prior to that, I was an associate in the corporate department in the Riyadh office of an international law firm for several years.

I am open, approachable and responsive. I strive to meet client demands to the highest standards and always try to come up with several solutions to meet client concerns, especially the more demanding clients. I am very determined and when met with a challenge, I go the extra mile to reach a solution that will put the client's concerns at ease.

My mixed background helps me build effective and strong relationships with clients, and is a great asset in my dealings with different nationalities and different work-ethics that may be otherwise a challenge for others.