Mr. Elias Hayek serves as Vice President, Legal for the Europe, Middle East and Africa division, of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and is based in Dubai, UAE. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all regional legal issues for Starwood in the Middle East, Africa and Indian Ocean, including managing all the legal issues for the operating hotels in these regions, and advising the corporate management and hotel management. His responsibilities also include leading the legal aspects of the negotiation, drafting and execution of hotel management, franchise and lease agreements, arranging contracts for branded residential and condo projects, and overseeing the acquisition and disposition of hotel assets.

Elias also serves as the President of the Association of Corporate Counsel – Middle East Chapter, the leading organization for general counsel and in-house lawyers in the world with over 35000 members. In this role, Mr. Hayek oversees all strategic and operational affairs for the ACCME since 2014.

Elias is also an officer of the International Bar Association’s legal practice group Arab regional forum working with a team of expert private practice and in-house lawyers to steer the strategic objectives of the IBA for the regional forum.

Prior to joining Starwood, Mr. Hayek worked in private practice in California, United States from 1995 to 2000, as a commercial/transactional attorney. Mr. Hayek holds a Juris Doctorate degree, as well as a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration (Finance / Economics). He is a licensed member of the attorneys’ bar of the State of California and of the U.S. Federal Courts, and is also a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association, American Corporate Counsel Association and the California Bar Association. He has been a frequent speaker at general legal seminars and conferences as well as real estate, tourism and hospitality industry specific conventions and various legal seminars. He is fluent in English and Arabic, and is conversant in French and Italian.