Ms. Dena H. Elkhatib

Ms. Dena H. Elkhatib is the general counsel for Riyadh Air. She is a transactional lawyer with over 20 years of experience and a specialty in high-value transactions in various sectors, including banking and aviation. Her experiences include aircraft portfolio acquisition/sales, finance/operating leases, debt financing, and restructuring transactions.

She has jurisdictional experience within both the Middle East and the United States working directly with CEOs, CFOs, and COOs of organizations, as well as experience in leading diverse teams to close high-stake congruent projects with airlines, aircraft leasing entities, OEMs, and other transactional partners. She is highly skilled in negotiating and executing complex cross-border commercial transactions.

Ms. Elkhatib has extensive expertise in business and the aviation sector and in overseeing and managing crises, communication, and helping businesses recover during challenging times.

She is experienced in working with start-up organizations, as well as seasoned entities, improving their business processes and resulting in enhanced productivity and business profitability.

Prior to entering the legal field, Ms. Elkhatib consulted in a number of industries, which allowed her to balance her commercial astuteness with her legal knowledge and resulted in an impressive track record of achieving and exceeding business and financial objectives, developing training programs, and assisting lawyers in navigating transactional hurdles. She has written several articles and a book, which were published internationally.

She has participated in several industry events, including speaking at the 2021 AirFinance Journal North America conference. When not focused on aviation or banking law, she is on the board of directors and currently the board secretary of Amideast.

Ms. Elkhatib holds a bachelor of arts in finance and marketing from Loyola University of Chicago, a juris doctorate and a certificate in international business and trade law from the University of Illinois Chicago John Marshall Law School, and a master's in public administration and a certificate in management, leadership and decision sciences from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government.