With a very inspiring story, Al Sharkiah interviewed the established lawyer Farah Zafar to learn more about her career and success story.
Farah Zafar is currently the Chief Legal Officer of AMAALA, a project by the Public Investment Fund, KSA. AMAALA, a billion-dollar uber luxury project known as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Al Sharkiah: Please give us a brief overview about your personal background and professional highlights
I was born and raised in the United Kingdom. I come from a humble, disciplined and focused household, growing up we were not allowed to watch TV, instead the importance of reading and studying was instilled in us. In my household, working hard was mandatory – failure was never an option. As the daughter of an emigrant father, I grew up recognizing the value of hard work, education and independence. My father inspired me to follow my dreams and live a life that allowed me to support myself and my family. My father was my inspiration and role model for what hard work, focus and dedication truly meant.
Growing up, money was limited. My parents worked tirelessly to make sure that we were provided for and felt secure. One of the biggest lessons my father thought me was, “It is not how much you earn, but how much you save.” From an early age, I was motivated to provide my parents with the life they deserved, they had sacrificed so much for us and this was a huge motivation for me. I knew that with hard work, dedication and focus, I could become a successful lawyer. Though I must admit, I was also a huge fan of LA Law when I made this decision and the idea of big hair, heels and shoulder pads may have influenced me!
One of my defining professional moments was securing a training contract with a respected London firm, I was overjoyed to be offered such an opportunity and excited to begin my professional career. However, I suffered horrendous mental abuse at the hands of my bosses. They had a very old school mentality and believed that breaking a trainee’s spirit was the best way to build a successful lawyer. The entire two years of my training contract felt like torture, I used to wake up every morning, cross off the day on my calendar, throw up and go to work where I would stay for an average of 18-20 hours. While I don’t condone the treatment I received, I am grateful for the experience as I discovered the true extent of my mental resilience and determination.
After completing my training contract, I landed my dream job working in an amazing law firm in Mayfair, which is really where I learnt the art of drafting any transactional document due to the skills of one of the talented partners there. I was content and settled in London when I received a call notifying me that I was headhunted for the position of Sole Legal Counsel for the Engineers Office of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum in Dubai.
At the time, I knew next to nothing about Dubai, I had never been there, I had no family or friends in the city and I was a single woman moving to the Middle East, totally alone and isolated. However, my father encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and take the challenge and thus I decided the grab the opportunity with both hands and in the 20 year’s since, I have never once regretted this decision. I knew that I had been given a unique opportunity to positively contribute to the implementation of the vision and growth of Dubai. This position changed my life and defined my career and after 18 years, I am still proud to call Dubai my home.
I relocated to the UAE and embraced both the move and the challenge of my new role. From this point onwards, my career has involved holding prominent positions with the Engineers Office (allowing me to be in Dubai at a pivotal point in time which allowed me to contribute to the vision of Dubai). I was also lucky enough to be part of the founding teams for several prominent development companies such as Omniyat and Dubai Holding where I was mandated to attract and secure institutional capital to Dubai. I was responsible for structuring, negotiating and closing corporate and commercial transactions from a financial, investment and legal perspective. I successfully raised 11.3 BN AED in 15 months of project capital. I have also been responsible for government to government transactions and have acted on behalf of the Government of Dubai, Oman, Qatar and the Emirate of Ajman.
I feel very lucky that my job encompasses all of my passions including legal, real estate development, investment, capital transaction and establishing a new global luxury tourism destinations. It is the first time in my life where I feel completely comfortable in all aspects of my role. My collective experience over the last 20 years has prepared me and led me to this point, where I can execute with absolute confidence and clarity.
Al Sharkiah: As a successful businesswoman, how challenging was it to get to where you are today?
It was extremely challenging; I faced many setbacks along the way yet I always picked myself up and persevered. Perseverance amidst diversity is what teaches and builds character. Being alone and isolated (my first 3 years in Dubai) teaches self-reliance and I am proud to say that not one person along the way has ever helped me or facilitated my success, in fact to the contrary, jealousy, ego and selfish personalities have always tried to derail me, play politics against me and have wanted to see me fail.
But my father always said that “Barakat is in no one hands but yours” .. my mother always said “what is meant to be mine, will always be yours” and with that confidence, consistently working hard and having faith led me to where I am today – finally being recognized for my contribution, dedication and hard work and for that I am truly blessed.
When I first relocated to Dubai over 20 years ago, the legal sector was incredibly male dominated. I was one of the few professional women in Dubai, but I must say that I was always treated with respect. For me, my gender was really never really an issue, I knew that if I was the hardest working person in the room and carried myself with grace and humility then ultimately, I would earn the respect I deserve.
I dedicated myself to trying the learn all aspects involved in running a successful business – strategy, development, financials, investments etc. I would spend my evenings studying the various work streams that make up a corporate environment so that when I spoke, I was well-informed and my voice was heard and respected.
Many women fail to appreciate or acknowledge their power in the workplace, I believe that one of our distinctive powers as women is possessing an emotional intuition that allows us to communicate effectively across all levels of an organization and provides for excellent leadership and management. Passion and sheer determination are also important for without passion, ultimate success because a challenge – as one must love what you do. Women typically are self-critical and do not recognize their power, one must believe, have faith, work hard and be positive. Positive energy is everything to be successful and creative.
Al Sharkiah: You have a very global career, how would you describe the corporate culture in the Middle East? And what makes it different?
I believe the future is Saudi Arabia. The rate and pace at which the Kingdom is evolving, growing and developing the most ambitious projects in the world is simply amazing and cannot be compared to any other country in the world right now! You can feel the energy in the Kingdom and the strive towards delivering Vision 2030. The opening up of the Kingdom to the entire world and creating unique, greenfield, ambitious tourism destinations, in the time frames prescribed is truly remarkable. The leadership of the Kingdom is one that is consumed by perfection, vision, hard work and the execution capability to deliver and to be leading the entire legal components but also providing a platform across all other work streams to facilitate the delivery of Amaala, is both an honor and a challenge. I relish the opportunity to challenge myself daily and grow professionally and personally. My journey is filled with unprecedented levels of stress, upheaval, intense work hours and sleepless nights. Notwithstanding this, I am incredibly proud to be part of this journey which will create something that has never been done before and I understand that in times of challenge, we reach our highest potential.
The legal arena in Saudi Arabia is taking great strides towards increased diversity. New laws and regulations have been put into place whereby gender equality in terms of working conditions and salary have been implemented for the benefit of women that is not even in place in other parts of the world.
Under the visionary leadership of the King and Crown Prince, the gender gap is no longer there and there are more and more women in the workplace and supported by the law.
The initiative was introduced by the Ministry of Labour and Social Development to enhance working conditions for women in the Kingdom. The main point under the initiative is the ban on employers from discriminating against women’s “wages for work of equal value”. Employers are required to pay women a wage equal to that received by a man in the same role. Employers are obliged to ensure female employees are comfortable in the workplace. This includes, providing separate cubicles for women who request such. They also need to make sure there are separate toilet areas and prayer rooms for female workers. The new initiative also compels employers to refrain from putting “pressure on a woman’s freedom in a way that does not conform to labor laws”. This prohibits employers/managers from enforcing regulations that go against the kingdom’s laws on female employees. Initiatives such as these are the first of its kind and I am proud of the Kingdom for what it is seeking to achieve for women in the workplace.
Al Sharkiah: How do you handle the stress that comes with your high-profile projects?
My current role is very high pressured and stressful so it would be easy to succumb to this and feel overwhelmed. However, I feel that all my prior roles were also so demanding and stressful that I have adapted to handle stress much better than I did in my earlier years. The most important thing to me is my health, without this I couldn’t possibly fulfill my role. A few years back, I had what was the most terrifying experience of my life, almost dying from a blood clot. I never knew how important health was until I nearly lost it.
I believe the best way to cope with stress is to have a physical outlet. For me, exercise is the ultimate stress-buster. No matter how hectic my schedule becomes I always find time to work out even if it’s just a 30 min run in the morning to clear my head and think about what needs to be done during the day, it clears my mind and leaves me feeling ready to tackle any challenge.
Al Sharkiah: How do you manage your work/life balance?
This is something that I struggle with as success is rarely achieved without sacrifice and in my current role there is no time for a work / life balance. The Kingdom is on a fast track program to meet the aspirations of Vision 2030 and when you commit to such vision, there is no time for work /life balance. So with less time with family and friends, I try to create this at work.
I treat my brilliant talented team of lawyers as my family and fondly refer to them as my children. I believe in creating team environments predicated on being a family and instilling values of respect, loyalty and trust amongst us. I consider myself incredibly lucky because few people ever find their true passion in life and even fewer manage to make a successful career out of it so the sacrifice is worth it.
Al Sharkiah: What is your advice to female entrepreneurs, especially in the Middle East?
Always be prepared. Have foresight. Know your audience. See the end game. Have a strategy. Know the politics. Use your emotional intelligence to read and understand the situation. Never compromise on your ethics – loyalty, trust, respect, hard work to get ahead.
Be the hardest working person in the room. Always make sure you have the knowledge – seek knowledge and craft your expertise from being outside of your box – outside of your comfort zone.
I never compromise on who I am or how I was raised. Many people get ahead by stepping on people, by being unfair but I believe being kind, honest and hardworking will always pay off in the end – it may take longer but I believe in walking up the ladder one step at a time, so when you get to the top, you know how you got there, no one can push you off and you have earned it.
Al Sharkiah: You have several career achievements and awards, what is your proudest moment out of all?
I feel as though my hard work is finally coming to fruition this year and I am beginning to receive the recognition that I have worked tirelessly for over the past 20 years.
I was honored and humbled to be chosen as “Legal CEO of the Year” at this year’s CEO Awards Middle East. This recognition meant so much to me, as it came from the business community of the Middle East.
I was then overwhelmed when only a few short weeks later I was named “Woman of the Year” at the Big Project Awards 2019.
And only last week, I also won “General Counsel of the Year” at Oath Legal Awards Middle East. The crazy thing is that I won 3 awards back to back after 19 years of hard work, sheer determination and perseverance without any previous recognition whatsoever, so to have won all these awards this year has been truly humbling and overwhelming – I am truly grateful.
This surge in industry recognition has both humbled and inspired me, I shall use the momentum to continue to break barriers and achieve greatness and to try and be an inspiration to all women that work so hard but do not feel they are being heard or recognized. One day, when the time is right and it is your time, you will be heard and nothing can stop this.
Al Sharkiah: What do you prefer to do on a day off? What are some of your hobbies?
For me, a day off is a rare commodity so I tend to treasure them. I spend quality time with my adorable puppy Rocky. Then I aim to catch up with family and friends over dinner. I will always try to incorporate some physical activity into any free time I have, as I am huge fitness fanatic, I enjoy going to the gym, CrossFit and running. I am hoping that I soon have enough free time to dedicate myself to begin training for a marathon, as this has always been a goal of mine and to learn how to dive, because with my hectic and crazy mind always running in 500 directions at once, I would like to enjoy the serenity and calmness of the ocean.
Al Sharkiah: Finally, what is the role of fashion in your life? How would you describe your style?
Fashion plays a huge role in my life, as a I mentioned early LA Law was an early influence of mine and part of the reason I wanted to become a lawyer was the appeal of the glamourous heels and business attire. Whilst I have long given up on the shoulder pad, I definitely still enjoy the glamour.
Since I was young, your surroundings dictate your fashion choices. I came from a conservative background; so early years were dictated by that. As a young lawyer in London and working in the city, it was all about pinstripes, white shirts with cuff links and trousers, when I started working in the Middle East it was also about wearing trousers and being conservative. I said one day, I will be so good at what I do, I could practically wear whatever I want and still be respected. That and a few other things have earned me a reputation as the Rockstar Lawyer of the Middle East and I think my fashion choices reflect this. I am huge high heel fanatic and feel more confident and comfortable in a pair of Louboutin’s and Jimmy Choo’s than I do in sensible flat shoes.
In terms of fashion, whilst I love haute couture and the big designer names, I am equally comfortable in high street brands and I am a huge advocate of women wearing whatever makes them feel confident, I tend not to focus on specific labels, instead choosing pieces that make me look and feel and feel like a Rock star!
Interview by Victor Gee
