About

Relied on by the company to give ‘smart legal solutions to complex problems of business management’, Marcella Zacchei leads a team of eight legal staff around the world that support the operations of leading heating product manufacturer Ariston Thermo. Enjoying the interrelated nature of managerial and technical skills when orchestrating high level legal matters, Zacchei has a proven track record of using her abilities to the fullest extent during her stint at the group. Citing team work with internal and external partners as being key, Zacchei sees her role as one of leadership along with giving smart legal solutions to complex problems of business management. Introducing several changes including “beauty contests” for selecting external counsel, Zacchei demands that law firms provide a ‘business attitude, hard technical skills, prompt reaction times and full availability, flexibility and creative attitude and ability to close deals’, avoiding unnecessary fights with counterparts. Other changes to the department include an electronic tool for archiving legal documents, along with introducing a defined set of standard agreements to manage the company business which are mandatory to use in negotiations. She cites finalising an M&A transaction in the US as the biggest highlight of her in-house career to date, where she led the Ariston team to sign the acquisition agreements of the equity shares of a US corporation, along with smart innovation projects implemented in the recent years to boost Ariston legal team efficacy and Ariston compliance.