About

With a region-wide responsibility at one of the world’s most high profile conglomerates, Andreas Lüning takes charge of Siemens legal operations in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland as well as the Baltic countries. Owing to this comprehensive scope, Lüning’s support to the business is required to be proactive and considerate of cultural, legal and regulatory differences between these jurisdictions, as well as ensuring his managerial abilities are utilised through taking charge of approximately 20 legal counsels based in Stockholm, Finspång, Oslo, Copenhagen and Helsinki. In addition to his legal nous and leadership qualities, Lüning is responsible for the company’s compliance affairs. He explains that he took the lead in terms of the ‘company-wide implementation’ of Siemens compliance program in its Swedish subsidiary, a feat that was achieved in ‘record time’ and is recognised as an industry benchmark. This is but one example of projects Lüning has been involved in that stretch far beyond a legal remit; he cites a ‘number of major infrastructure projects’ located in ‘difficult legal environments’ across several continents as being amongst the highlights of his in-house career. Of these he states how they have moulded him as a professional: ‘I have gained knowledge about how important it is to be pragmatic and not always seek the perfect legal document, but also being able to navigate with what is possible given the environment where you negotiate without jeopardising professional legal risk management’. Also having completed a number of major M&A transactions, Lüning is determined to impose his own style of leadership, which he says has been to ‘foster a legal department that focus on the core tasks of providing pragmatic and professional legal risk management to the company’. Consistent with the growing demands of the profession, Lüning is adamant that legal functions must take the role of ‘business partner and not a back office function that supports with advice upon request’. In terms of this trend, he elaborates: ‘When I started in Siemens, the legal support was provided by an external law firm which did not work at all to the dissatisfaction of the business and very high costs. In the departments I run I always pay a lot of attention in getting the right people with the right mind set in order to create a good relationship with the business. The most important transaction during the last years is the business combination between Siemens and Gamesa for Windpower’. Before first joining Siemens, Lüning worked in private practice between 1996 and 2001 as well as an in-house counsel for Swedish corporate giant Saab.