International law firm Baker & McKenzie’s Riyadh practice is considered one of the leading corporate and finance offices in Saudi Arabia, thanks to American John Xefos. The accomplished lawyer is largely responsible for developing it into a well-known practice that offers corporate, commercial and financial advice.
Its clients now include local and international companies in the commercial, banking and public sectors.
Xefos joined Baker & McKenzie in 1980 and moved to Riyadh three years later. By 1986 he was a partner and responsible for managing the practice from 1987 to 2008.
Xefos specialises in Islamic finance, corporate joint ventures, and corporate counselling and government for private and public companies.
Before becoming a lawyer, he studied at the Cornell University and later became one of the first people to study law, Middle East studies and Islamic law at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Chicago Bar, Illinois State Bar and American Bar Associations.
Away from corporate life, Xefos is married to businesswoman Lubna Olayan, chief executive of the mammoth Olayan Financing Group. The couple live in Riyadh with their three daughters.
Follow us on
