What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have recently been involved in?

I am a member of the experienced, high-performance Airbus Asia-Pacific legal and compliance team, and I manage legal and compliance matters relating to the Malaysia market. Malaysia is one of Airbus’ largest operational footprints in the APAC region – it is a key customer base across its commercial aircraft, defence, space and helicopter product lines and is also where Airbus plays a key role in local collaboration activities in the development of local research and technology.

In addition to supporting the business in meeting operational challenges head-on, especially in the wake of the pandemic and war in Ukraine, we are also proud to have supported Airbus in multiple corporate social responsibility initiatives in the past year in aid of disaster relief and educational needs in Malaysia.

Did the pandemic lead to a lasting increase in the interaction your legal team has with the strategic plans of the company?

Businesses are now naturally more risk-adverse. Over the last two years, we were able to perceive real-life outcomes all over the globe resulting from both good and bad risk management in the face of uncertainties. It is now clearer than ever that early and regular risk assessment is crucial. On top of our day-to-day interaction with the business, we have seen a higher engagement level than before as a result of higher risk awareness levels. In the long term, we are going to need to demonstrate leadership and our ability to adapt, innovate and navigate in constantly evolving crises more than ever.

How do you suggest in house lawyers build strong relationships with business partners?

Earning a valuable seat at the table makes in-house counsel best placed to weigh every outcome of a decision together with the business. Cultivating a solid partnership with our colleagues at every level requires us to consistently offer concise and precise solutions and evaluation options at the right opportunity. This must always be aligned with the business’s short and long-term goals, where there must be an emphasis on banding together to achieve the best possible outcome for the organisation. A comprehensive understanding of the business and its culture is essential, without which we lose the compass on which solutions and strategies ought to be focused on.