Team size: > 50

What are the most significant cases and transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The Sandoz region Europe legal team is a sought-after business partner that provides advice on legal matters and, together with business functions, supports solutions and fosters business opportunities. The Legal team covers the full range of Sandoz’s business in the European region, with annual sales of over USD$5 bn in more than 70 countries. This includes commercial projects along the value chain for sales and marketing and Sandoz’s go-to-market model at pharmacies, hospitals and in interactions with health care professionals, scientific and educational projects, business development, market access, support of IP-related strategies with comprehensive legal assessments as well as governance and compliance processes. Further, within several workstreams across all areas of Sandoz’s business, the legal team is closely involved in the ongoing strategic review, which looks into the intention to spin off Sandoz from Novartis.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

The pandemic and, consequently, the move to a much more remote work system have changed requirements for both operational and leadership tasks for the legal team at Sandoz.

A lot of local but even more cross-country work has been moved to remote working, which means a lot of adaptation for communicating and implementing operational tasks and follow-up activities.

Leadership under remote conditions requires much more of a leader with empathy than before. A leader needs to recognise colleagues’ emotional needs and address those with remote tools than in an immediate personal environment. This is true for both individuals and teams and may require different settings for leadership interactions with teams, sub-teams and individuals.

How much influence do you, as a general counsel, have on the diversity and inclusion policies of your organisation?

Diversity and inclusion are core values of the Novartis group’s culture, including Sandoz. Also, with respect to diversity and inclusion, every value comes into effect by implementation in everyday practice, manifested by decisions and living examples. I strive to live the commitment to diversity and inclusion in many ways. This includes all kinds of diversity in a multi-national team and building on diversity as a highly valuable asset. I am trying to foster awareness of our several personal features, motivations, strives and capabilities, which mutually strengthen our sense of togetherness and, last but not least, foster our way to achieving results as a team and as individuals.