About

Prior to joining Panda Group, an organisation involved in the UK and Irish waste management and utilities sector, in March 2017, Richard Henry served as Irish head of legal at the leading soft drinks company Britvic. During this period Henry worked as a lead legal advisor for Britvic’s international launch of a new product in India. ‘Entry into the market was quite complex and had its transactional genesis via an M&A opportunity to merely a distribution arrangement with local Indian large national partner – a consequence of this entry strategy meant a new route to market and ultimately creation and establishment of Britvic’s Indian subsidiary company, distribution agreement, co-packing agreement and around 20 procurement agreements’, he states. Advising on all aspects of this entry was a hugely demanding and rewarding task for Henry, as the deal touched upon key internal and external stakeholders in different specialisms. Henry’s recent career move from a public to a privately owned company has been, in his words, ‘challenging and rewarding in an equal measure’, as he has to be able to be more re-active to the demands of the business, which could change daily. Henry is a strong believer that legal should have greater responsibility for and input into other functions and is dedicated to implementing this view into Panda’s legal function. ‘I also emphasise the need to create and drive economic value for the business,’ he adds. ‘This is something that the owner of the business is very keen on and my team are cognizant of the need to create and develop business opportunities as well as drive efficiencies and savings’. When asked about characteristics he likes to see in in-house lawyers, Henry says, ‘GC’s and heads of legal need to be trusted business advisors. They need to be numerate and develop reputations as business-savvy advisors on a range issues and strategies, and often simultaneously hold non-legal positions in their companies. Generally, the crème de le crème GC is a fully functioning member of the senior leadership team who “just happens to be a lawyer”’.