CHRISTOPHER H. JOHNSON specializes in international and domestic transactions and claims, representing global firms in all aspects of international business. In addition to his practice in Washington, D.C. he has been active in Saudi Arabia since 1978 and has maintained an office in Riyadh since 1984.
Chris has served as Chairman of AmCham Saudi Arabia, the Middle East Council of American Chambers of Commerce and KKR Saudi Ltd.. He has participated in many U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) negotiations with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council and served as an expert witness on Saudi law before various courts and arbitral tribunals and as an advocate and arbitrator in ICC Arbitration. His practice currently focuses on global financial institutions in all aspects of their global and local operations, cross border regulatory, corporate and commercial issues, corporate governance, registrations, liquidations, disputes and mergers & acquisitions.
Previously, he served as Director, Chairman and President of the humanitarian air service provider AirServ, and as Commissioner and Chairman of Vint Hill Economic Development Authority charged by the Virginia General Assembly to develop a decommissioned U.S. Army base as a Northern Virginia neo-traditional town center.
RASHDA RANA is a commercial/construction law Silk with extensive international legal experience, including significant senior in-house roles across the UK, Middle East, Europe, Australia and Asia Pacific. Her expertise spans the full lifecycle of large-scale construction/infrastructure and energy projects, from procurement strategy and contract structuring to negotiation, review and dispute resolution. She has worked with both standard forms (NEC, JCT, FIDIC) and bespoke contracts for projects incorporating design, construction, engineering, energy (gas, water, electricity, renewables & nuclear) and technology sectors.
As General Counsel at leading global project management, design and construction companies, Rashda has been involved in high-profile international construction & infrastructure projects, major company acquisitions and integrations, PPP financing arrangements, and compliance/governance structures. She has led global teams on major initiatives including internal and external disputes, ethics inquiries, and regulatory matters.
Recently, she served as Senior Strategic Legal Consultant for NEOM in Saudi Arabia, responsible for contractual risk management across all sectors of the new city-state project. She has also provided strategic legal support to various data centre companies across multiple jurisdictions and served as Senior Negotiator and Board Adviser on Sydney Light Rail Project for Acciona Infrastructure Australia, managing a AUS$1.2Bn alternative dispute resolution process. Previously, she was General Counsel Asia Pacific for Lend Lease Project, where she led the tendering and commencement of Barangaroo, the largest development project in Australian history, and General Counsel for National Grid Electricity Transmission PLC, providing strategic advice across all business divisions.
LARRY TRACHTENBERG, is an accomplished executive and entrepreneur with over four decades of experience spanning executive leadership, disruptive technology, mergers & acquisitions, and international business strategy. Based in London, Larry currently serves as the Founder and CFO of CryptoMondays London, one of the UK and Europe’s largest and most dynamic Web3 networking groups, with a community of over 15,000 members.
He is also the President and CEO of Coffee, Inc. (OTC:COFE), where he is leading the deployment of groundbreaking blockchain technology aimed at transforming the global green coffee supply chain.
Larry has held numerous senior positions across sectors including fintech, media, legal & finance, renewable energy, data center infrastructure, telecommunications, academia and philanthropic ventures. His diverse career includes strategic and operational leadership roles at Optimum Data Centres, Pro Vinci Asset Management, Loucetios Energy, and LST Partners, among others. He was also a founding guardian of The Childhood Trust, a charity dedicated to alleviating child poverty in London.
Earlier in his career, Larry held academic appointments at the London School of Economics and the University of Southern California’s UK graduate program in International Relations. He also co-founded and led pioneering ventures such as Global Analysis Systems, the UK’s first online political and economic risk information provider, backed by Merrill Lynch and UBS/Paine Webber.
Larry holds an MSc (Econ) in International Relations from the London School of Economics, a diploma in Politics & Economics with Swedish Language from Uppsala University, and a BA (Hons) in Politics & Economics from California State University. He is bilingual in English and professionally proficient in Swedish.
MELISSA AOURANE, a French trained and qualified lawyer, holds a Bachelor of Laws and two master’s degrees from the University of Paris Saclay and the Université Pantheon I, la Sorbonne, admitted to the Paris Bar Association.
Melissa advises international clients on various aspects of Saudi employment law, including targeted advice on compliance with new employment policies and recruitment conditions applied in the country. She has assisted clients in the drafting of employment documents, including employment contracts, the development of manuals/policies, and internal disciplinary guidelines. Her experience extends to pre-litigation advice to develop a defense strategy and disciplinary matters.
Melissa’s experience and practice extend to international dispute resolution and include the representation of major corporations, state-owned entities, and governments in complex commercial and investment arbitrations under ICC and ICSID. The cases she was involved in spanned a variety of industries including oil and gas, renewable energies, and transportation. She has also participated in the representation of clients in international disputes in front of French Courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
IDIR AOURANE, a French trained and qualified lawyer, specializes in international business law, with a solid educational background from University Paris-Saclay, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (La Sorbonne School of Law), and University Saint-Joseph in Beirut.
He has gained experience working with diverse law firms in the MENA region and France, including major international firms, and has been involved in high-profile projects such as mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, and joint ventures for global clients, across various industries.
Idir’s expertise spans a wide range of legal domains, including business law, taxation, banking law, and corporate governance. He has also facilitated the establishment and creation of companies in the MENA region, supporting foreign investors in navigating complex legal landscapes. His experience includes advising on compliance, managing regulatory matters, and ensuring successful market entry and business expansion through joint ventures and strategic partnerships.
STEPHEN ROBINSON is an experienced project manager who has worked for the leading ‘top 5’ international Corporate Real Estate & Professional Services Consultancies in the UK, Europe, MENA region, and India.
He brings over 25 years’ Project Management Consultancy (PMC) experience and has successfully delivered several large scale, multi -billion US dollar infrastructure / built environment capital works projects internationally. His expertise extends to Programme Project Management, Risk Management, Project Controls, and Commercial and Claims Management.
LEI JOHNSON is an ex-Deloitte CPA and business consultant with over 18 years of experience who has been with the firm since 2014. Her prior work included financial reporting in the U.S. defense industry, human capital analytics for government clients, and workforce advisory and government relations for the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Saudi Arabia.
She holds a BS from Cornell University in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and an MBA from George Washington University.
HENRY JOHNSON specializes in business development, operations, and business intelligence with extensive Middle East experience. His experience includes serving as Strategy Review Lead at Bechtel (Riyadh office), Staff Assistant and Legislative Correspondent in the U.S. House of Representatives, and legal work at leading GCC law firms.
He authors a widely recognized monthly newsletter analyzing legal, economic, and corporate developments in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region, and conducts investigative research for international business intelligence consultancies. He holds a BA in Political Science from New York University Abu Dhabi and an MBA from Georgetown University.
