Speaker profile

James Donald

Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
Accor

James Donald is Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Accor based in Dubai. He has over 10 years’ experience in the hospitality sector and is a regular speaker at international conferences on hotel management.

In addition to Dubai, James has also lived in London and Shanghai where he has advised on all manner of hotel-related agreements throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. He has also acted as an adviser to various tech start-ups. In his last role prior to Accor, he led the legal and risk function throughout India, the Middle East and Africa for another global hospitality operator.

James earned his first degree in economics and finance in 2003, before qualifying as a solicitor of England and Wales in 2008 with a global law firm in London. He is a dad to twin boys.