Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is transforming the Kingdom through bold projects, regulatory modernization, private-sector growth, and new models of global investment. Behind every major development, every strategic partnership, and every high-value transaction is a legal foundation that protects trust, enables execution, and turns ambition into reality.

Reema A. Aref stands at the center of that legal transformation. As Chief Legal Officer at New Murabba, she brings more than 15 years of experience across corporate law, legal strategy, tax law, governance, compliance, energy, public-sector advisory, and high-stakes legal leadership. Her career reflects the rise of Saudi legal talent as a strategic force in national transformation, not only supporting change, but shaping how it happens.

Early Life and Education

Reema A. Aref built her legal foundation through a strong international academic path. She earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Leeds, completed the Legal Practice Course at Leeds Beckett University, and later earned a Master of Laws from Northwestern University.

This education gave her a broad legal perspective across different systems, preparing her to work with government entities, multinational companies, regulators, and major private-sector clients. Her early exposure to the United Kingdom and United States legal environments helped shape a leader fluent in both local priorities and international standards.

Her development continued through executive and leadership programs, including the Misk 2030 Leaders Program at Esade. As a Misk 2030 Leader, she represents a generation of Saudi professionals prepared to contribute to national transformation through expertise, leadership, and service.

Building Legal Strength Across National Institutions

Before reaching executive leadership, Reema built a career across some of Saudi Arabia’s most influential institutions. At Saudi Aramco, she worked as a General Corporate and Commercial Legal Investigator, handling corporate and commercial legal issues including fraud, compliance breaches, and contractual disputes. She also contributed to matters connected to the Aramco Hospital and Johns Hopkins joint venture, including employment-transfer issues.

She later served as Legal Advisor and General Counsel at the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, where she provided strategic legal advice and support on energy-sector partnerships, collaborations, agreements, and projects. Her work included legal research, contract drafting, negotiation, and ensuring compliance with local and international legal requirements.

At the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, she worked as a Tax Legal Specialist, managing tax appeals and legal-policy operations. Her contributions included developing taxpayer guidelines, drafting VAT-related legal work, supporting changes to income tax law and transfer pricing regulations, improving legal frameworks for appeals, and reducing operational backlog.

Together, these roles gave her rare public-sector and regulatory depth. She learned how legal systems support national priorities, how policy becomes implementation, and how strong frameworks can improve transparency, compliance, and investor confidence.

Leading EY Law KSA

Reema's leadership expanded significantly at EY, where she spent seven years and became Partner and Leader for EY Law KSA. In that role, she led more than 14 legal professionals across corporate law, commercial and contract law, tax law, and government regulatory advisory. Her mandate included growing EY Law’s presence in the Saudi legal market while maintaining strong legal quality, compliance, and alignment with regional and international standards.

Before becoming partner, she served as Director, Corporate and Tax Lawyer, where she expanded EY’s tax legal services and represented clients before judicial committees. She managed tax disputes, prepared legal memorandums, built a team of legal professionals, and helped position EY’s tax legal controversy services as a strong offering in Saudi Arabia. Her work at EY reflects one of her most important leadership qualities: building from the ground up. She did not only deliver legal advice; she built teams, services, processes, and market confidence. Her profile notes that she assembled and led EY’s first tax legal controversy team, helping increase successful case representations before judicial committees and strengthen legal compliance.

Legal Leadership at New Murabba

Today, Reema A. Aref serves as Chief Legal Officer at New Murabba, one of Riyadh’s major Vision 2030-aligned developments. In this role, her legal leadership supports a project designed to contribute to Riyadh’s future as a global city and a center for innovation, culture, business, and quality of life.

For a project of this scale, legal leadership is not a back-office function. It is central to execution. It shapes governance, risk management, contracts, partnerships, compliance, commercial arrangements, and the frameworks that allow complex teams and stakeholders to move forward with confidence.

Reema's journey across Aramco, the Ministry of Energy, ZATCA, EY, and New Murabba makes her especially suited to this role. She understands the language of government, regulators, global advisors, corporate clients, investors, and project leaders. That ability to connect legal precision with national ambition is what makes her leadership especially relevant to Vision 2030.

Women’s Leadership and Mentorship

Reema A. Aref’s story is also part of a wider national story: the rise of Saudi women into influential executive and strategic roles. Her recognition includes the Legal Falcon Award, the Leadership in Law category at the Global Women in Law Award, and Best Organisation Led by a Woman.

Her leadership extends beyond formal roles. She is a member of the Saudi Women Leaders Network and the Saudi Leadership Society, where she also serves as a mentor. She is also a Visiting Lecturer at King Saud University’s Faculty of Law and Political Science, helping connect professional experience with the development of future legal talent.

This mentorship dimension is essential. Reema is not only advancing her own career. She is helping open the path for the next generation of Saudi lawyers, women leaders, and legal professionals who will support the Kingdom’s next wave of growth.

Recognition and Legacy

Reema A. Aref’s achievements reflect both professional excellence and national relevance. Her awards in law and women’s leadership recognize her impact as a legal executive, team builder, and strategic advisor. But her deeper legacy is found in the institutions and people she helps strengthen. She has contributed to legal frameworks, compliance programs, tax systems, energy-sector partnerships, legal-service development, and the governance foundations behind major national projects.

As Saudi Arabia continues its Vision 2030 journey, leaders like Reema A. Aref show that transformation depends not only on bold ideas, but on the systems that make them possible. Her career is a reminder that law is not only about managing risk. It is about enabling progress, protecting trust, and helping a nation build with confidence.

Discover more inspiring stories at Saudi Wins, where Vision 2030 comes to life.