Omeed Arlani – OMERS

At the intersection of law, business, and technology, Omeed Arlani has established himself as a leader who does far more than dotting legal i’s and crossing compliance t’s. As Vice President of Enterprise Legal for OMERS – one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, Omeed brings versatility, partnership and sharp negotiation skills to bear on some of the organization’s most complex challenges.

Omeed Arlani | OMERS | VP, Enterprise Legal

Omeed is a builder—of teams, of systems, and of culture. And his leadership reflects the same clarity of purpose that defines OMERS itself: delivering on the “Pension Promise” to more than half a million active, deferred, and retired Ontario municipal employees.

Dually accredited in both the U.S. and Canada, Omeed’s path wasn’t linear. With an Honours Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and a JD from the University of Maine School of Law, he discovered early on that his strengths lay in understanding people, processes and systems, and all the points of interconnection.

“Law school wasn’t always the plan,” he admits. “But completing a course in dispute resolution during my MBA really sparked something. I realized I enjoyed leading negotiations and processes and solving multi-stakeholder problems.”

After returning home to Toronto, Omeed accepted a role with Intelex Technologies. There, he specialized in technology transactions and privacy law and embedded efficiency into legal operations. This theme would become central to his work at OMERS.

He joined OMERS in 2019 as Corporate Counsel, initially tasked with managing procurement contract negotiations and the development of legal workflows related to procurement activity. But his impact quickly expanded. In early 2024, he was promoted to Vice President, Enterprise Legal, a role in which he now leads a team of six—comprising two practicing lawyers and four legal operations professionals, with a broad mandate that includes corporate contracting, legal technology implementation and management, external legal service provider management, corporate insurance programs, vendor governance, IP portfolio management and more.

Legal operations as a strategic advantage

Omeed’s tenure at OMERS has been defined by a commitment to making legal operations a strategic function.

“The legal operations team didn’t exist when I joined OMERS,” he says. “My manager built a business case for building a legal operations function, the first step of which was to hire me. Together we refined the business case by highlighting the work we were doing and how much more we could do if we had the right tools, structure and people.”

With the support of OMERS Legal leadership, the Legal Operations team developed contracting standards, legal workflows, implemented new technologies to support operations and established a vendor governance program in partnership with the OMERS Finance team and stakeholders throughout the organization.

Even as the function becomes increasingly complex, Omeed remains focused on transparency, efficiency and enabling the business to achieve its goals.

Negotiation by nature, leadership by design

Ask Omeed where his negotiation skills come from, and he smiles.

“My mother and grandmother. I imagine that some of those skills are genetic—part of your DNA. My son is four and the toughest negotiator I’ve ever met. But there’s also learning by doing,” he says.

At Intelex, Omeed was responsible for a high volume of contracts early in his career. The pace taught him how to think on his feet.

“I like to negotiate and draft the contract live. That skill set allows you to move efficiently, enable the business and still get to the right result,” Omeed explains.

But negotiation, in his view, is about more than closing deals. It’s about sensing what’s happening in the room.

“You should always pay attention to what’s going on, whether with respect to a counterparty or someone on your own team. It’s essential that you pay attention to body language, tone and the words someone chooses to use. That awareness is what lets you find a resolution, lead effectively and build trust.”

That people-centric approach is central to how Omeed builds and manages his team.

“You’re only as good as your team,” he says. “You have to be available, actively listen and take a genuine interest in each team member’s development.”

He also insists on transparency in hiring and team culture. Finalists always meet the team before a decision is made.

“We’re in the office four days a week. Protecting the team dynamic matters. I want my team to be a part of the decision. I also want to make sure that a candidate knows what their day-to-day looks like, through full transparency, and have them be excited about joining the team. I often receive feedback that the interview with the team is the reason why a candidate wants to join OMERS.”

Future forward, people first

In a rapidly changing legal landscape, Omeed views artificial intelligence as a game-changer, especially for lean in-house teams like his own.

“AI will have a substantial and positive impact on traditional in-house legal teams,” he says. “These teams are often lean and AI-enabled solutions will help to free up bandwidth and increase capacity.”

Still, he’s clear-eyed about AI’s role.

“AI tools provide a great starting point, but you need people to validate the output, apply their expertise and connect with stakeholders.”

His commitment to using technology to amplify – not replace – human expertise is aligned with OMERS own culture of growth and purpose.

Paying forward a culture of enablement

“OMERS Legal leadership didn’t just empower me to build a Legal Operations function – they invested in me as a leader,” he says. “Early in my career at OMERS, my leaders let me run. This gave me the flexibility and support to achieve outcomes and drive progress in ways that reinforced their trust.”

And now he does the same for his team.

“I am focused on their development. Everyone on my team has a robust development plan and we review and refer back to them often. I often joke that as much as I would love my team to work with me throughout their careers, one of our biggest indicators of shared success will be the moment that they have reached a level of achievement that leads them to new opportunities.”

That philosophy — of enabling others, building trust and delivering results — has helped Omeed thrive at an organization whose mission he deeply believes in.

“At the end of the day, everything we do supports one goal: delivering the pension promise. Behind every workflow, every contract, every compliance program, people are counting on us to protect their future.”

In a world where legal departments are often seen as gatekeepers, Omeed is redefining the model, building not just systems and structures but a culture of service, clarity and human-centered leadership.

Finally…

Omeed is quick to assign credit to those around him, rather than accept it for himself. He credits his family, exceptional people leaders, his team and the friends and colleagues he works with every day, with his ability to achieve these goals.

“I feel fortunate to be surrounded by great people.”