General counsel, chief legal, regulatory and compliance officer | OPAP
Nancy Verra
General counsel, chief legal, regulatory and compliance officer | OPAP
Team size: 67
Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?
In 2022 I proceeded to digitise the legal records. I have outsourced a legal platform to bring cutting-edge technology and advanced tools to all legal teams, ensuring a data repository with increased functionality, automation of repetitive legal tasks, supporting the digitisation of legal team operations, monitoring legal workflows and efficient data mining. In this way, efficiency and automation of work, mitigation of workload peaks and facilitation of knowledge management have been achieved for my team.
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
My legal team has successfully handled significant arbitrations under the LCIA rules before the LCIA tribunal, mergers and acquisitions and significant regulatory cases. OPAP filed two arbitration requests against the Hellenic Republic (HR) for contract violations totalling around €300 million in damages. After successful negotiations with HR and the issuance of relevant legislation, OPAP dropped its claims, and the arbitration tribunal terminated the cases.
As for mergers and acquisitions, OPAP acquired an 84.49% stake in Stoiximan, Greece and Cyprus’ top online gaming operator, gaining full control. This €344 million investment involved complex cross-border transactions, negotiations with multiple stakeholders, and compliance with various legal and regulatory frameworks, including those in Greece, Cyprus, and Malta. The deals were successful and have cleared scrutiny from Greek and Cypriot competition and regulatory authorities.
How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this?
Work ethic, alignment with my company’s values, and professional efficiency are key parameters that are considered when I decide to choose external counsel to work with. If I believe or realise that the external counsel will or has deviated from our values, I will hesitate to establish a long-term partnership.