Courtney Sader is General Counsel for Raytheon Emirates ltd. and Raytheon Saudi Arabia as well as legal counsel for the MENA region for Raytheon Missiles and Defense where she serves as a member of the leadership team for and is responsible for managing all legal matters including prime and sub contractor procurements, offsets and other transactions, corporate governance, joint ventures, human resources and anticorruption compliance.

Since joining Raytheon, Courtney has served as primary product line counsel on the Air Warfare Systems product line. She also provided legal support to the Land Warfare Systems product line, the International Commercial Organization, and Supply Chain Management. Additionally, Courtney participated as an active member on the Raytheon International Working Group, an enterprise wide collaboration to address international legal issues impacting the company, headed out of the Raytheon Washington Office. Courtney also served as Senior Manager and Counsel for the Raytheon Anti-corruption and International Agreements group where she was focused primarily on providing legal advice on Middle East and North Africa matters, including 3rd party intermediaries and compliance with foreign and domestic anti-corruption laws.

Prior to joining Raytheon, Courtney served as legal counsel for Textron Inc. where she provided primary legal support for all international matters at the Textron Systems business division. She also supported the U.S. government contracting function. For the last three of those years she was promoted to serve as Assistant General Counsel and General Manager for Textron’s Abu Dhabi office. There she functioned as the primary legal support for GCC-related matters, including transactions, legal entities and compliance across the entire company.

Courtney holds two bachelors and one masters degrees from the University of Maryland and a juris doctorate from Temple Law School.

She also serves as a board member at AmCham Abu Dhabi and is an active co-chair of the AmCham Abu Dhabi Business Leadership Alliance and a member of the legal affairs committee.

Charles has lived in the UAE since 1986, both in Abu Dhabi and in Dubai. He is seeking reelection to the Board of Directors of AmCham Abu Dhabi, where he serves as Secretary.

Charles’s law firm, Afridi & Angell, was a founding member of AmCham Abu Dhabi, which formally organized in 1990 and was formally recognized by the Abu Dhabi government in 1996. Charles served as that AmCham’s first chairman, and thereafter served on the Board of Directors for several years. Charles is one of only 5 recipients of the Ambassador’s award, which Ambassador David Litt awarded to Charles in 1996 in recognition of his leadership role in support of American business interests and in the formation of
AmCham Abu Dhabi. In addition, Charles has been a member of AmCham Dubai since its establishment in 1986. He has served on two occasions as its Vice President Legal Affairs and Secretary. Charles is a partner in the law firm of Afridi & Angell, a Corporate Member and Corporate Founder member of AmCham. He holds a J.D. and an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies, and a B.A. from Dartmouth. Charles looks forward to another year working with the other members of the Board and with the AmCham membership.

Rebecca is a partner in the MEA employment team of Clyde & Co LLP, based in Dubai and has worked in the Middle East since 2008.

Rebecca advises on all aspects of employment law and immigration issues arising from employment in the Middle East, in a variety of different sectors. She advises on issues arising across the employment cycle, from employment contracts and policies, employee relations and incentives, to termination issues and disputes.

Rebecca has led the employment team in a number of initiatives with free zone authorities, including drafting the DIFC Employment Law and more recently, advising a Dubai free zone on required changes following the New Labour Law.

Rebecca also advises on the key challenges faced by employers in the modern work environment, including global mobility, working hours, use of social media, protection of confidential information, and alternative business, incentive and retention structures. Rebecca has advised on partnership issues arising in a number of professional services firms, including law firms, including remuneration structures, retention arrangements, and termination disputes.

Rebecca is recognised as a Band 1 leading individual by Chambers Global and Legal 500, and is listed in Who's Who Legal, Management Labour & Employment as a Regional Thought Leader.

Rebecca is an active member of the IBA’s Employment Industrial Relations & Labour Committee, as the D&I Officer, and is also on the editorial board of the International Employment Lawyer. Rebecca is also a member of the Clyde & Co MEA Board.

Joanna Matthews-Taylor is a partner in the Dubai office of Baker McKenzie and head of the UAE employment practice.

Joanna is experienced in the full spectrum of employment law issues, including recruitment, employment contracts, benefits and termination. She has also advised clients on the employment aspects of corporate transactions, immigration matters, cross-border secondments and the mobility of employees in the Middle East. She has worked with international and regional clients in the UAE and wider Middle East region in a variety of sectors including technology, life sciences, hospitality and insurance.

From 2016 – 2022 Joanna has been recognised by Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, most recently as a “Next Generation Partner” with clients and peers commenting that "she is a go-to lawyer for employment advice across the GCC. She is knowledgeable and applies advice based on business needs”.

Prior to joining the Firm, she worked as a senior legal consultant for an international law firm’s Middle East office, and as a qualified assistant for a leading Scottish law firm.

John McGowan has lived and worked in Abu Dhabi for over 25 years. During this time, John has represented major construction project stakeholders (employers, engineers, architects, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers), multi-national corporations, local U.A.E. holding companies, energy companies, real estate developers and a U.A.E. free zone. His principal focus is dispute resolution in the construction and energy sectors. He serves as both an arbitrator and advocate in arbitrations, and is well versed in the rules, procedures and applicable laws in U.A.E. arbitrations including post-arbitral award enforcement proceedings. John served as U.A.E. counsel on behalf of the Dubai government (Dubai Civil Aviation Authority) in defense against a major international contractor’s post-award enforcement actions in the USA and France. More recently, John has been listed on the inaugural roster of arbitrators at the Tashkent International Arbitration Centre (TIAC) in Uzbekistan. John’s work includes overseeing/managing complex U.A.E. litigation. He also served on GALC’s team tasked by the Ministry of Finance to draft the English translation of the U.A.E. bankruptcy law [original Arabic]. John is a founding member of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Abu Dhabi, and formerly served as both a member-at-large of the Board of Directors and an officer (Secretary). He is a member of the Pennsylvania bar in the United States.