How do you approach managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crises, and how does your legal strategy align with the broader business strategy to ensure the organization’s resilience? 

At Coca-Cola HBC, effective governance goes beyond mere compliance with regulations. We take proactive measures to enhance and strengthen internal processes and mechanisms. By maintaining robust corporate governance practices, we aim to foster a culture of responsible decision-making, risk management, and stakeholder engagement.

Coca-Cola HBC Romania has an ethics and compliance committee, led by the legal director, to support local management and ensure the company operates in strict adherence to local legislation and the highest ethical standards. Our company runs and implements comprehensive compliance programmes to ensure that our values and policies are known and applied by all employees in their daily activities. These programmes are based on the code of business conduct and the compliance and anti-bribery policy manual. At Coca-Cola HBC Romania, we are firmly committed to conducting our business with integrity and respect for society and the environment.

Within the company, we are dedicated to managing our business and operations in a way that minimises risk while capitalising on opportunities. Accountability for taking smart risks is a central pillar of our risk management strategy.

Our company-wide approach to enterprise risk management (ERM) supports the application of SmartRisk principles, which involve intelligent risk-taking by outlining risk management guidelines that impact the achievement of our strategic objectives. ERM enables us to identify and manage uncertainties that may arise in our business processes and complements the management process by adding a perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of a strategy as conditions evolve. It also provides an understanding of how a strategy aligns with the organisation’s mission and vision. This approach ensures that risks are identified as early as possible, potential issues are addressed, their impact is reduced, or they can be transformed into business opportunities.

Considering all the above, managing legal aspects during periods of instability or crisis requires a proactive, strategic approach that remains flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. Having a strong risk management strategy in place provides me, as legal director, with the framework to incorporate the proper legal perspective, ensuring the legal strategy is aligned with and integrated into the broader business strategy.

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company? 

Sustainability has become the foundation of our business. Mission 2025, our ESG strategy, is a business imperative and integral to our decision-making, with targets focused on reducing emissions, efficiently using water and energy, taking care of our people, and supporting the communities in which we operate, all while ensuring full compliance with applicable rules and legislation. Coca-Cola HBC is ranked as the world’s most sustainable beverage company by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and is listed among the top performers on other ESG benchmarks such as CDP Climate and Water, MSCI ESG, and FTSE4Good.

In my role as Legal Director, I also act as Ethics and Compliance Officer for Coca-Cola HBC Romania. This means I oversee the implementation of all governance programmes within the company, based on the code of business conduct, the compliance and anti-bribery policy manual, competition law, human rights policy, and GDPR Policy. Additionally, my team is responsible for launching initiatives and training programmes to help promote an ethical culture throughout the organisation and with our business partners.