Team size: 12 

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?   

A quick summary of what happened in the energy sector in the last 5 years should be used in MBA classes to explain what the VUCA model means. Price spikes, geopolitical tensions, regulatory interventions and changes in the expectations of clients, more and more concerned for climate change and security of supply.  

This is not over as new challenges are on the horizon: consequences of the next US elections, changes in EU policies as a result of the new political set-up, and more. Furthermore, with specific reference to the Italian market, a few items will have a massive impact on our business. The bulk of home and foreign driven investments in Italy would depend on how quick and well the National Recovery and Resilience Plan will be implemented (PNRR is an acronym used in the common discourse). Related to this, Italy will need to improve competitiveness of its businesses and public system.  

So far, at Axpo Italia we did pretty well, supporting our business colleagues along our long-term strategy, aimed at diversifying our sources, expanding our renewable energy portfolio, offering smart solutions to our clients and strengthening our brand as an innovative and reliable business partner.  

A few things have helped our legal function to cope with such challenges. First, a strong integration of the legal and regulatory teams. Typically, regulatory professionals are focused on upcoming regulations, often of a technical nature, while in-house counsels are concerned on existing contractual models and standards. Where regulatory changes occur at such a fast pace (PNRR is an example), it is not possible for regulatory people to ignore how new requirements will be translated into corporate documents, as much as for in-house counsels to neglect a consultation document announcing a new regulatory requirement which would antiquate existing standards. Second, we look for and cultivate talents. Of course, you need to ensure adequate skills to draft a contract, but it is important that people in your team are not scared of engaging in new fields or taking on increasing responsibilities. However, attracting talents is an increasingly tough job, as you need to offer an attractive package, where purpose, not money, has become the most important component. Also, we are investing in new tools (AI) to help our people work better (higher productivity but also easier life and more satisfaction out of their job).  

Finally, as an in-house function, you need to be supported by the right external counsels/advisors. Over the years, we believe we have selected the best advisors on the market and tried to establish a win-win relation with them, although we still have to work to find the optimal set-up. 

A few examples of the cases/transactions we have worked on recently: our energy efficiency and origination team has stricken a number of deals with industrial clients, to improve their energy mix and their sustainability model; Axpo is also a frontrunner in projects related to the diversification of energy sources (LNG) and the use of green gases (hydrogen and biomethane).