Francesca Gori is the Regional Director of Legal Services at Accenture for Compliance, Operations, Regulatory and Employment law. She leads a team of approximately 40 in-house talented lawyers across Middle East, Africa and ASIA PACIFIC, and is also the General counsel for Accenture in Middle East.

Throughout her career, she gained extensive experience in major international law firms providing support to multinational companies. During her 18-year tenure with Accenture, Francesca has been part of several global project implementation initiatives, as well as the set-up of new operations and legal entities across the Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Asia and Latin America regions. Francesca holds a Law degree from L.U.I.S.S. Guido Carli University in Rome, Italy, and has a strong background in Compliance, Employment Law, Immigration and Corporate law, Data Privacy, and Regulatory matters across EMEA. She lives in Dubai with her son Leonardo of 13 years old and enjoys spending time with her family.

Layla El-Wafi is Senior Legal Counsel at Standard Chartered Bank based in Dubai. She advises on corporate and commercial transactions including sustainable finance as well as other ESG related projects and issues like climate transition and human rights in business. She is also a group diversity and inclusion champion and involved in community service and social impact projects adopted by the bank and in her own personal capacity. Previously she worked with international law firm Addleshaw Goddard LLP in both London and Muscat, Oman. Prior to her legal career she worked with various international development and human rights organizations in New York, London, Baghdad, and Tripoli in both peace and post conflict circumstances with a focus on women and community empowerment. Views expressed in the webinar discussion are personal and do not represent Standard Chartered in any official capacity.

Aneeza has extensive legal, compliance and governance experience with top tier international and government companies. She is currently heading Ethics and Compliance for ADNOC Group and is a strong believer that ethical and legal conduct is integral to the growth and sustainability of any strong business model.

In her previous role within ADNOC Group, as General Counsel and Company Secretary of ADNOC Offshore, she significantly contributed to the successful merger of two large upstream companies and sat on the leadership team, advising on complex operational matters and corporate strategy.

Prior to this, Aneeza worked for Weatherford as Lead Counsel for MENA operations which spanned across 23 countries in addition to their global rigs business. This role allowed Aneeza to develop civil law expertise, advise on cross-jurisdictional issue, and handle multifaceted matters related to ethics and trade compliance. She has also worked with British Petroleum as a Legal Lead on procurement whilst starting her career in private practice with a focus on energy and projects.

She is a firm believer that in-house counsel should strive to become a true business partner who is agile and able to preclude risk. Aneeza is an avid mentor to female employees with a particular passion for promoting diversity, inclusion and social governance matters.

As CEO of AESG, Saeed founded and built AESG into one of the Middle East and Europe’s largest and most respected specialist consultancy, engineering and advisory firms with a core focus on sustainable urban development.
He holds a First-Class Master’s degree with honours in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Bath and is a LEED Accredited Professional and Estidama Pearl Qualified Professional as well as a Certified Energy Manager.
Under Saeed's direction, AESG has developed a strong reputation for delivering the highest quality consultancy in sustainability, energy management, fire and life safety, facade engineering, environmental consultancy, waste management, acoustic consultancy, commissioning, government advisory, project development and building consultancy services.
In his role at AESG, Saeed has been involved in managing and directing some of the world’s most prestigious real estate and development projects through planning, design, and execution. Saeed has also led a number of pioneering strategy and policy assignments throughout the MENA region that focus on energy security, sustainable development and climate change. With his global expertise, Saeed sits on a number of governments, real estate and academic advisory boards and regularly consults regional governments on progressive strategies and policies.
Saeed is recognised as a thought leader in sustainable development, engineering and construction and has published numerous papers and presented at hundreds of local, regional and international conferences. As well as presenting at industry conferences, Saeed has also presented policy papers at key international forums including the United Nations Regional Policy Dialogues and COP Climate Change talks.
As well as his professional role as CEO of AESG, Saeed also served as Chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council between 2013-2020 as well as Vice Chair of the World Green Building Council MENA Network from 2011 to 2014. Saeed has been a Board Member of the World Green Building Council between 2015 – 2021 and served as part of the Board’s Executive Committee, providing leadership to the global sustainable building movement. In these roles, Saeed has been influential in the advancement of a sustainable buildings and cities globally and in the MENA region.
In 2010, Saeed was awarded the title of International Young Consultant of the Year by British Expertise in the UK. In 2012, Saeed was named in Gulf Business’s top 30 achievers in the MENA region under the age of 30. And in 2018, he was recognized as the ‘Sustainability Leader of the Year’ at the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Business Leadership Awards and the 'Executive of the Year' at the Big Project Middle East Awards and in 2021 he was recognized as the ‘Construction Executive of the Year’ at the Construction Week Awards.

Representing both the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and international entities regionally and internationally, Rebecca Kelly, managing partner of the Dubai office, counsels clients on arbitration, litigation, corporate and regulatory compliance, regulatory investigations, occupational safety and health, and white collar crime issues. Her clients include companies involved in the construction, infrastructure, finance, industrial, technology, transport, general trading, education, healthcare, and pharmaceutical sectors. Rebecca is a member of the firm’s crisis management practice and has been based in the UAE since 2005. She is a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia and a Registered Foreign Lawyer with the Law Society of England and Wales.