DLA Piper has found new successors to positions vacated by the departure of Dubai head, Tony Holland.
The firm has appointed ex-Mallesons Stephen Jaques partner Jim Delkousis (pictured) to head up its Dubai office, while Dubai-based partner Shehzaad Sacranie will succeed Holland’s role as regional head of finance.
As reported earlier this month, Holland is leaving the firm in February to take up a top job as chairman of the firm’s Australasian alliance firm, DLA Phillips Fox. He will have one month to guide Delkousis, whose appointment will be effective in January, to the new role. Sacranie’s position will be effective in February.
The new appointments follow a challenging year for the firm in the Middle East – it not only suffered two rounds of redundancies but lost key partners and alliances in the region. Last week, former regional managing partner Alex Saleh, who the firm replaced with Abdul Aziz Al-Yaqout in June, re-emerged as head of Al Tamimi’s new Kuwait office.
Al-Yaqout said Holland had been a key partner for the firm. “Tony has been a huge asset to our finance practice in the Middle East and our Dubai office and will be missed. We continue to operate in a challenging environment and [Delkousis and Sacranie’s] regional experience and leadership skills will be key to our long-term success in the market.”
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