About

Heading a small legal division within the legal department of Arla Foods, namely global legal services – Consumer International (CIN), Peter Istrup is in charge of all dealings at a fully global level. Operating in a very lean structure of only two full time equivalents, they have the task of collaborating across the matrix of the company’s legal and corporate departments. Istrup’s approach to delivering legal services to the business stems from an angle in which stakeholder feedback enforces what the business requires other than the expected generic legal advice. This has resulted in the department extending its efforts towards tasks such as internal decision papers that allow for regional management outside of headquarters. An impressive knowledge of the entire global group allowed Istrup to understand that there was a lack in alignment during communication with the business and encouraged him to collaborate with the business functions, ensuring that all advice is presented in a ‘short, straight to the point and easy to understand’ manner. Istrup is known for his work throughout the organisation with one regional Head of Arla Foods praising Istrup for his efforts saying that Istrup is ‘sharp in the negotiations’ and has ‘a great commercial understanding beyond the expected high level of legal competence’. In addition to the above changes, Istrup initially developed a group policy that lead to a change in the legal structure, resulting in the reduction of group companies with almost 90 individual entities over four years. This has allowed a more policy driven approach within the organisation that still plays a prominent role today. Istrup thoroughly enjoys his role as an in-house lawyer and is also a board member of the Association of Danish In-house Counsels. ‘I enjoy being a service function. I enjoy that my clients are global. I enjoy working with external and internal stakeholders from different cultures and backgrounds. I enjoy the diversity in people and tasks’.