About

Initially working with Amcor as part of its demerger of its Australasia and Packaging Distribution business while practicing privately, Lily Ann Twui Siang Tsen’s excellent performance with the company led to a secondment which was first extended and then upgraded to a full-time general counsel role for Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific (AFAP) in October 2014, which she accepted. Tsen explains that, as the role has provided her with so many opportunities, selecting particular highlights is tough but that she would mention her work with the Thailand team and the president of AFAP to close her first greenfield project – and the company’s new Philippines plans – as one particular personal milestone. ‘After closing the deal, I worked closely with the new country general manager, leading negotiations with the consultant and contractors who built and commissioned the plant. This transaction highlighted the importance of clear and effective and the need for cross-cultural sensitivity when doing business’, Tsen says. She is also extremely pleased with the progress she has made with the legal function and how it relates to the rest of the business: ‘The most significant shift is changing the mindset of the organisation so that it views me as a trusted business partner. Traditionally, and especially so in Asia, lawyers (in-house or otherwise), were viewed as a doorstop and there to review contracts and provide legal advice when things turned pear-shaped. There’s still a lot of contracts to review, but the behaviour change to working with legal as a business enabler and risk mitigatory has been pleasing’. With several greenfield projects under her belt, one particularly exciting transaction that Tsen is working on currently is the announced acquisition by Amcor of Bemis, a particularly complex, multi-billion dollar deal that, once approved, will see the companies strategically combine their assets to create the global leader in consumer packaging.