Team size: 25+

Key team members: Anne Mølgaard Jensen (group senior director – head of commercial legal) and Michael Solhøj (group senior director – head of intellectual property rights)

Major legal advisers: Baker McKenzie (global advisors)

Can you give an idea of the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Given the landscape and increasingly challenging business environment, one area where we have focused greater efforts in recent years has been on geo-political risk management and on how to transition from risk management to building strategic resilience. Equipping the business with the right tools to mitigate risks, foreseeing or anticipating what may come in strategic markets, and the impacts it may have across the business, has been key.

Another recent project that marks a significant milestone for ECCO was in our Middle East and Africa region, where ECCO has been transitioning from working with franchise partners to an own and operated business model. Setting up an own and operated model in countries with such strong heritage and customs requires flexibility and adaptability. This project entailed great cross-functional efforts and learnings.

How has your legal team progressed on issues of diversity and inclusion (D&I), and what are the main benefits or challenges of working in a diverse environment?

Looking at our team a few years ago, what could be defined as a “traditional” Danish in-house legal team, we have developed into a true business partner for ECCO, aligned with the multinational nature of the company. Our team has grown into a multicultural team that counts with not only different nationalities and languages, ages, level of experience, but also academic and professional backgrounds. This has been crucial to grow into a business partner role for our colleagues across ECCO, bolstering the relationships with stakeholders and in-house capabilities, which ultimately leads to a team based on different perspectives and a team capable of challenging the status-quo. The different skills and backgrounds in the room encourage a wider range of opinions, stimulating discussion, and resulting in innovative and stronger ideas and results.

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

Strong relationships are built over time, but start with being available and having a genuine interest in not only the legal aspects of the business but also understanding the commercial and more strategic aspects. In ECCO we ensure to have regular status meetings with our key stakeholders to not only discuss precent cases, but also understand the priorities and future goals of the respective business partners.

The unusual business environment created by the pandemic has been swiftly followed by the Ukraine crisis, and attendant supply chain costs rising and rising inflation. Are you now putting more emphasis on preparing for the unforeseen and, if so, what does this entail?

The current business environment has certainly created unprecedented challenges and an environment wherein businesses must be alert and prepared for quick change and unique landscapes. Risk management has been increasingly incorporated into our in-house department and, in particular, geo-political risk analysis and risk management. We have focused on developing capabilities and a focus that allows us to anticipate geo-political risk and build resilience, equipping the business with the right tools from a legal standpoint and overall strategy.