Team size: Five

What are the most significant cases or transactions you and your team have been involved in?

We are responsible for providing day-to-day support to the company – dealing with clients and suppliers, new and existing partners, assessing legal restraints to new business ventures, and selecting legal frameworks for new strategies. We have recently negotiated and executed some franchising agreements. Our legal team has been responsible for developing investment projects and the launch of several innovative products. Our industry has introduced new regulations concerning plastic packaging, circularity, money laundering, terrorist financing, and corruption – we are strongly committed to complying with the law and implementing the required changes for best practice.

Even in the best-case scenario, Covid is likely to have far-reaching ramifications. How are you safeguarding the long-term health of the business?

Covid-19 has taught us that predictability and routine are no longer values upon which business can be developed. Today, a successful company can quickly anticipate and adapt to new challenges. That is what we do at SUMOL+COMPAL to guarantee high-quality products and provide well-being to our customers, bringing innovation and satisfaction, while keeping high awareness and trying to anticipate future events. We also have a sustainability agenda with ambitious goals concerning the environment, guaranteeing better habits, and contributing to the welfare of our employees. We are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far, and we look at the future with optimism and enthusiasm.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

Like any other department of the company, the legal team must be able to adapt to change, embrace it, and evolve with it. We must be flexible, objective, technically prepared, and ambitious. The most crucial factor is being able to co-operate as a team and collaborate in the realisation of new measures and projects. Our value and contribution must be recognised as we are actively part of the business we work for.