Contact Details
- +974 5991 2022
- aarij@winsightsglobal.com
Aarij S. Wasti
Aarij is Founder and Chief Insights Officer. He is a Toronto-based partner at the international law firm of Gowling WLG as a member of its Entertainment & Sports Law Group. His practice includes a focus on brand protection, advising from planning through event-delivery.
Before joining Gowling WLG, Aarij spent 14+ years working on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 from bid to wind-up. His involvement on the project included:
- Advising as external counsel on the winning bid in 2010.
- Acting as the Senior Legal Counsel at Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, Qatar’s planning and infrastructure delivery entity for the FIFA World Cup (2013-2019).
- Acting as the Director Legal & Compliance at FIFA’s event delivery subsidiary in Qatar (2019-2023).
- Acting as Company Secretary for FIFA Ticketing’s subsidiary in Qatar (2021-2024).
As part of his work on the World Cup in Qatar, Aarij was a member of the FIFA Qatar management team, where he was responsible for regulatory and governance matters and oversaw the Legal & Compliance team across three divisions: legal, brand protection and compliance. During the FIFA World Cup 2022, he was a member of the core delivery team based out of the Main Operations Center where all decision makers were co-located for efficient tournament-wide communication, internal collaboration and crisis management.
Aarij’s previous experience at Qatar’s Supreme Committee also includes time as the lead of the Sports & Media team. His work included acting as lead counsel to legacy projects such as the development of corporate social responsibility programs, behavioural insights and innovation grants. He also advised on Qatar’s workers’ welfare program benefitting migrant labour.
Prior to the World Cup in 2022, Aarij acted as counsel to the Doha 2020 Bid Committee for the Olympic Summer Games. Other major events worked at include the 2020 Summer Olympic Games (Doha bid), FIFA World Cup Brasil 2014, FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, 2020 FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Pakistan Business Council – Qatar and was recently a member of the American School of Doha’s Board of Directors.
Aarij maintains licenses to practice law in Ontario, Alberta, England & Wales and Pakistan (High Court), and offers legal services in both English and Urdu. He works in Toronto and Doha and has previously lived and worked in Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil and Pakistan.
Education
- Juris Doctor (JD) Dalhousie University, Schulich School of Law
- Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) McGill University, Desautels Faculty of Management
- Master Certificate in Human Resources Cornell University, School of Industrial & Labor Relations
Executive Education
- Regulatory Compliance Law Specialization University of Pennsylvania, Carey Law School
- Introduction to International Development University of Cambridge
- Making Government Work in Hard Places Princeton University, Princeton School of Public & International Affairs
- BE101x Behavioural Economics in Action University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management (BEAR Centre).
- Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ) Chartered Institute Securities Investment
Professional Qualifications
- Barrister & Solicitor Ontario
- Barrister & Solicitor Alberta
- Solicitor of the Senior Courts England & Wales
- Advocate High Court Punjab, Pakistan
Volunteering
- Board of Directors American School of Doha
- Board of Directors Pakistan Business Council-Qatar
- South Asian earthquake relief effort Pakistan
- Workers Camps Qatar
Languages
- English, Urdu
Awards
- Legal 500
- GC Powerlist Middle East 2019, 2022, 2023