About

Alcon Canada develops and markets over-the-counter drugs, highly-sophisticated surgical devices, and consumer eye care products, within the ophthalmological space and is currently owned by Novartis, a top-tier global pharmaceutical company. Ratika Gandhi leads the legal and compliance function as the head of legal and compliance at the company. Reporting to Gandhi is senior compliance specialist Darren Segec, and Lana Liotta, executive administrative assistant. Paul Leger is a senior lawyer and consultant who is currently also on the team on contract. Gandhi works both cross-divisionally with her counterparts in Canadian affiliates and with the legal teams within the US and in other jurisdictions where the Alcon Global organisation operates. Her team advises both the surgical and vision care business units on corporate, commercial, health, regulatory, employment and privacy laws and oversees the management of general legal matters. As a member of the senior leadership team, Gandhi participates in management meetings and provides input on Alcon Canada’s mandate and strategy and other organisational matters. She also negotiates and drafts contracts and implements new local policies to remediate gaps and increase efficiencies. She and her team educate and train associates on legal and compliance matters and applicable internal policies. Segec focuses primarily on compliance matters and supports Gandhi in driving the organisation’s compliance agenda forward. He manages the internal compliance monitoring programmes and works with the business to implement innovative marketing programmes while ensuring that such programmes and the associates who run them, operate with integrity and in alignment with best practices in the medical device industry. Segec ensures the organisation meets the company level controls assigned to the compliance function and works with Gandhi to ensure associates are trained on all applicable legal and compliance policies, codes of conduct and other relevant processes. He provides guidance to the business units on the types of appropriate engagements with health care professionals and is also a participant of the country compliance committee. Liotta provides administrative support to the entire legal and compliance function as well as serves as the grants committee coordinator. As an external consultant, Paul Leger supports Gandhi in providing legal counsel to the business units as well as to the other corporate functions. He works closely with the business to review, draft and negotiate contracts and advises on commercial matters. Gandhi has re-defined the approach of the legal and compliance function so that her team is valued as partners in the business by providing proactive and practical advice. To bolster this approach, she built – from the ground-up – the Canadian Compliance Partnership Day, to address pertinent compliance matters in a simple yet effective manner, and to train on general principles instead of focusing on specific rules which are often more difficult for business associates to appreciate.