Roula Khaled is the General Counsel and Head of Ethics and Compliance of Khazna Data Centres, a joint venture between G42, MGX and Silver Lake. She oversees legal strategy, corporate governance, compliance frameworks and high-value commercial transactions. She is also a board-facing executive and company secretary, responsible for stakeholder management and board reporting. Roula has over 22 years of experience leading and advising on cross-border and domestic M&A transactions (including acquisitions of data centres and telecom operators), joint ventures, finance deals, restructuring matters and on a wide variety of corporate, commercial and strategic transactions in several jurisdictions including the Gulf Cooperation Council, Asia, Europe and Africa.

Before moving in-house, Roula started her career as a private practice lawyer in Paris, Lebanon and the UAE. Her most recent roles were as a Regional Senior Legal Counsel at IBM, where she worked on technology and consulting deals (including GBS) in the UAE and KSA and as a Regional Senior Counsel at Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, where she handled the corporate, commercial, employment, IP and litigation matters, covering UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon and Egypt. Before that, she spent six years as a Legal Counsel Mergers and Acquisitions at Etisalat working on some of the biggest deals in the region, including the acquisition of Maroc Telecom, the sale of Zantel and Canar, and the merger of Etisalat Lanka with Hutch Lanka.

Roula is a Lebanese-qualified lawyer. She has a Degree in Law from the Saint Joseph University in Beirut, an MA in Internal and International Business Law from the French affiliate of the Lebanese University (Filière Francophone de Droit), and a certificate in the Essentials of Business from the American University of Beirut.

Alongside her executive role, Roula is a faculty member at the Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances and she regularly speaks on legal innovation, risk mitigation and corporate strategy at industry panels and legal forums.

Why did you decide to pursue a career in law?

Initially, I wanted to become a litigation lawyer. That was driven by my passion to defend classmates in unjust situations and to advocate for human rights. With time, I wanted a job that meets my passion for logic and analysis (learnt as part of my mathematical and experimental sciences baccalaureate) and the rule of Law. Hence, I had a big interest in the legal corporate field. The analytical detailed thinking, the commercial acumen and the negotiation skills it requires made me want to continue as a corporate and M&A lawyer whether in private practice or in-house.

Looking back on your career, what are the key moments that have helped or hindered you in getting to where you are?

Looking back on my twenty-two years of experience in both legal private practice and in-house roles, I can clearly see the moments that propelled me forward and those that held me back. The key factors that helped me grow include having great mentors who offered support, honest feedback, and opened doors to new opportunities; starting from the very bottom and resisting the urge to rush into senior positions; and making the transition from private practice to in-house work, where I learned to make commercial judgments rather than relying solely on legal analysis. Working across different areas of the legal field and participating in major cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the telecom and technology sectors gave me invaluable exposure, as did learning how to navigate organisational politics. Ultimately, building a highly capable and high-performing legal department that now leads on the UAE’s digital front has been one of my most significant achievements.

At the same time, I recognise the moments that hindered my progress. Early in my career, I was overly risk-averse, but over time I learned the importance of managing risk rather than trying to eliminate it entirely. I also struggled with trusting and delegating, often taking ownership of everything myself, before learning to empower others by giving them the space and trust to deliver. Finally, I was once intimidated by the idea that I needed to understand every technical detail of the industries I supported—something that proved unnecessary, as legal skills are largely transferable, with only minor nuances depending on the level of regulation within each sector.

How do you maintain your voice and influence at the executive table, especially when you may be the only woman in the room?

Influence depends on credibility. Hence, when I speak , I try to speak as a business leader not just as a lawyer. I tie my points to commercial impact versus risk exposure. I always prepare thoroughly in order to build confidence through data, context and clarity. I spend time understanding the executives’ priorities, challenges and communication styles. I also work on building strong relationships outside the room and on understanding the world of others. In relation to being the only woman in the room, I see it as a strategic advantage. It offers a different perspective that improves decision making. Women have empathy and that creates an environment where people feel seen and heard, leading to higher levels of engagement and productivity. 

Have you ever felt pressure to “lead like a man”? How has your leadership style evolved to feel more authentically you?

I don’t believe leadership has a gender. I lead as a capable professional- not as a man, not as a woman. I believe in authenticity, clarity and purpose. I am assertive, collaborative and do my best to be effective. I, also, take very seriously the career path of the lawyers that report to me. Hence, I invest much of my time in mentoring them. Building confidence and trust versus accountability are essential for any leadership to succeed and for any team to grow. I always remind myself to lead by example.

What do you hope your legacy will be as a lawyer, a leader, and a woman?

Firstly, as a lawyer, I hope I will be remembered as someone who always fought injustice, inequality and unfairness and who defended the supremacy of Law. That, I, also, always believed in knowledge, hard work, dedication and commitment. Secondly, as a leader, that I lead with care, empathy and fairness and succeeded to build a solid legal department that is playing a vital role in the digital transformation of the UAE.

Finally, as a woman, I hope I will be seen as someone who stood for her values, no matter the hardship and mentored others to do the same. That I did everything I can to break stereotypes by emphasizing passion, resilience and authenticity. Most importantly that I have helped and empowered other women and was a good daughter and wife.

If you could sit down with your 25-year-old self over coffee, what advice would you give her about navigating the legal world and thriving in it?

I would mention to her a phrase mentioned in a book I am reading lately: “Don’t try to perfect the journey- instead make it interesting”. 

It is important that we don’t fall in the trap of perfectionism and to know how to pick our battles. To hustle when needed but to also know when to back off.