Finalists 2012: Hassan Bouadar, FedEx; Tayssir Negib, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies East; Dale Waterman, Microsoft

Hassan Bouadar was appointed head of legal at FedEx's Dubai-based Middle East and Africa operations in January 2010.

Since then, the French-qualified lawyer has played a major role in overseeing FedEx's expansion in the region, which covers no fewer than 69 countries.

Projects he has worked on include the establishment of FedEx's first liaison office in the Middle East and Africa, an agreement with Qatar Post for FedEx to ship packages to more than 220 countries and the launch of a new intercontinental flight from Memphis in the US to Dubai.

Bouadar was instrumental in the setting up and registration of FedEx's Istanbul office, drafting and reviewing the necessary employment contracts, internal policies and vendor agreements for the operation, which has eight employees.

FedEx's deal with Qatar Post required Bouadar to team up with Qatar Post's legal department to draw up a branding agreement for the new brand being used by the partnership.

The approval from the various regulatory authorities of the new Memphis to Dubai flight has significantly improved FedEx's service between the US and the Middle East.

In addition to these projects, Bouadar has also been heavily involved with the contingency planning necessitated by the popular unrest in the region.

In his capacity as the head of legal for the region, Bouadar has overseen the evacuation of expatriate staff from a trouble-spot as well as the monitoring of sanctions compliance following the impositions of sanctions on Libya.

Bouadar has also been an enthusiastic internal training resource for FedEx, hosting several sessions on compliance with international anti-corruption regulations.

In the past 12 months, he has provided training to more than 100 managers based in five different countries.