About

Simone Massenti is vice president of legal affairs for Italy at the multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. With a wealth of in-house legal experience and strong expertise in the pharmaceuticals sector, gained at large organisations such as Schering AG and Merck Sharp & Dohme, Massenti currently leads a five-strong team based in Milan. Described by his colleagues as a ‘person of integrity’ and ‘a competent professional’ Massenti has a deep understanding of complex legal issues and a positive attitude to work. Since taking up his current role in 2012, Massenti has achieved his goal of having the legal department represented in all the internal ethic committees. In addition, Massenti has been vital in changing the attitude of his team, with lawyers now showing a closer understanding of the business that allows them to support the internal functions better. One deal stands out among a multitude of transactions completed by Massenti in his career, namely a transaction to re-acquire full rights of important products licensed-out to a partner in an EU country. In this multi-million dollar deal, he had to lead a cross functional team, while dealing with several counterparties. Other impressive achievements in Massenti’s professional career include a significant reduction of a fine imposed by the Italian Competition Authority, acquisitions and subsequently mergers of companies and the establishment of critical joint ventures. Massenti enjoys working in an in-house capacity, saying: ‘I like the fact that I have the chance to be close to the most important decisions of the company, while being an added value for the organisation. I find the opportunity to deal with a wide range of legal aspects highly appealing’.