GC Influencers
Most Influential GCs - United Arab Emirates
Shaun Johnson of Beeah
Shaun Johnson is a highly experienced legal counsel who has held in-house positions for the best part of two decades. Prior to his first in-house role he was in private practice, initially with Blake Dawson (now Ashurst) in Australia, and subsequently in the London office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Johnson has built a career acting for major players in the projects, construction and infrastructure space, with extensive experience in PPPs, project finance and procurement. Upon making the move to in-house roles, he spent over five years working for Infrastructure UK and a period with Carillion, also in London, before moving to the Middle East in 2016. As of February 2022 he is group general counsel with the Bee'ah Group, a pioneer in sustainability initiatives.
Sources consider him one of the most impressive figures in the in-house legal community. One interviewee observed: "He takes the time to get to know the business - to get an overview of what is happening, who the key stakeholders are and what the business strategy is - to see where he and his team need to fit in. His approach is to figure out the business needs of the organisation and then translate that into a framework for his team so they can support."
Another source added: "He builds and manages relationships well, focuses on the key issues and does not get distracted by issues which aren't material. He delivers an efficient and high-quality legal function for his organisation."
In addition to his role as general counsel, he is Middle East chairman of the International Project Finance Association.