SCCA Appoints International ADR Expert as Chief of ADR
Published Date: 20/01/2019
The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (“SCCA”) has appointed experienced international institutional arbitration and mediation executive Christian P. Alberti as its new Chief of ADR.
This week, Chris began a handover transition with outgoing inaugural Head of ADR Judge Mostafa Abdel Ghaffar. Judge Mostafa concluded his 3-year term and has been appointed a Special Counsel with the SCCA.
Commenting on the appointment, SCCA CEO Dr. Hamed Merah said: “All of us at SCCA are delighted to have someone with Chris’ extensive background, international reputation and experience in institutional ADR to head up our case management secretariat. Chris’ highly regarded work involving diverse arbitration caseloads with parties around the globe is exactly what our users expect from a leading arbitral institution. Judge Mostafa’s exceptional work, dedication and leadership established a highly skilled ADR team that has been providing international, professional standard services for all our stakeholders. We look forward to introducing Chris to our user communities across the region and around the world as we broaden our offerings to meet the increasingly specialised demands for our services.”
Prior to joining SCCA, Chris was the Assistant Vice President of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the international division of the American Arbitration Association, Inc. (AAA), in New York City, which he joined in 2005. During his tenure at ICDR, Chris supervised staff and related management activities that included overseeing thousands of large, complex multi-party arbitrations and mediations covering all types of disputes and industries. He previously worked in an international law firm in Germany.
Fluent in English, German and Italian, Chris is certified to practice law in Germany and New York State. He is an Adjunct Professor at New York University School of Law, where he co-lectures on "International Arbitration and the CISG”. Chris’ diverse and longstanding career in the sector includes being a founding member of the International Arbitration Club of New York, a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb), the past President and Honorary Member of the Alumni Association of the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (MAA), and a member of various international ADR associations and U.S. Bar committees. He is a regular contributing speaker at international conferences and guest lectures at various universities about international arbitration and mediation in the United States and abroad. He has successfully coached NYU's Vis Moot Team since 2007 and its Foreign Direct Investment Moot Team since 2008. Chris obtained an LL.M. from Tulane University Law School in 2002 after having studied law at the Philipps-University of Marburg, the German University for Administrative Sciences Speyer (DHV) and the University of Queensland.