Elias J. Hayek

Prior to joining our firm, Elias worked for 17 years at a leading Fortune 500 international hotel brands owner and operator, where his last role was as vice president, Legal – Europe, Middle East and Africa Division. During this time, Elias worked in both the Brussels and Dubai offices and he was responsible for overseeing all regional legal matters in the Middle East, Africa and Indian Ocean, including advising corporate executives and hotel management on operations, acquisitions, development, HR, sales and marketing, dispute resolution, litigation and arbitration. His extensive in-house experience, multijurisdictional exposure, commercial acumen and vast connections in both the hotel operator and owner/developer communities are a substantial asset to clients.

He is the current Vice Chair of the International Bar Association’s Leisure Industries Section (2018-present) and leads the association’s hospitality and leisure offerings globally. He is the former chair and president of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Middle East chapter, a position he held from its formation and launch until 2017. Elias holds two additional leadership positions in the International Bar Association (IBA): as vice chair of the Corporate Counsel Forum and as an officer of the Legal Practice Division, Arab Regional Forum, where he is jointly responsible for directing strategy of the IBA in the region.

Elias is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Corporate Counsel, the global association of corporate lawyers representing 40,000 members in more than 85 countries.

He received his BSc in Business Administration from California State University, where he majored in Finance and Economics, and his JD from the University of the Pacific – McGeorge School of Law, where he was a member of the International Moot Court Honors Board.