As chairman, president and CEO of oilfield services corporation Halliburton, Lesar’s decision to open the company’s ‘second headquarters’ in the UAE was jumped on by US senators on both sides of the house as an abandonment; an affront to the American people and a victory for profit over patriotism.

For Lesar, it was simply the smartest business decision to ensure the future of one of America’s most high-profile and lucrative companies.

And it certainly made sense on a logistical level: much of the firm’s huge $1.54bn income in 2008 was generated through lucrative contracts held in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East region.

Lesar is a 1978 graduate of the University of Wisconsin where he earned his bachelors of science and master of business administration degrees.

As a certified public accountant and with a 16-year career at Arthur Andersen under his belt, Lesar was first hired by Halliburton in 1993. Just three months later, Dick Cheney took over the firm and a relationship was born that would go on to court considerable controversy in a slew of scandals played out in the press.

Nevertheless, Lesar has survived the accusations directed at his person and his company, and is today one of the most high-profile corporate figures in the Gulf.