Team size: 36  

Major legal advisers: Eversheds Sutherland, Winston Strawn  

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?  

Building commercially focused, agile legal services has been one of my keen areas of focus. Innovation in legal teams is more than implementing technological solutions. A combination of the right technological systems and improvement of processes can ensure effective and agile legal service delivery whilst managing the challenges of evolving business goals and transaction structures.  

The introduction of a simple process for requesting legal support in a standard template together with the introduction of an ERM system helped identify the risks in each transaction so that these could be promptly addressed, created stakeholder engagement and created a repository of transactions and templates to improve efficiencies for future deals. A simple process changes with the appropriate technological solution helped improve the efficiency of legal deliverables.  

How do you balance your responsibilities as a GC with your involvement in dispute resolution and M&A matters?  

The right balance of reliance on external law firms and internal legal team support is key to effectively manage dispute resolution and complex M&A matters and focus on strategic business priorities. I work with external counsel as an extension of the legal team and partner together so that the work on drafting and negotiations is shared whilst effectively working together with the business and other key internal stakeholders such as tax and finance teams to focus on strategic decision making and priorities.  

Can you foresee any key developments to the way general counsel work over the next five years?  

General counsel are increasingly playing the role of strategic thought partners and trusted confidants. The enhanced focus on diversity, equity and inclusion will enhance the cooperation between CHROs and General Counsel. Enterprise-wide strategic risk management, information security, and government relations are an essential focus for GCs in addition to legal and compliance matters. The increased focus on ESG will also involve GCs to assume a lead, especially with the Board and shareholders.  

What measures has your company taken to embed sustainability practices into its core business operations, and how does the role of the general counsel contribute to driving and ensuring sustainable practices within the company?  

The role of the general counsel is expanding, including through opportunities for leadership in sustainability. The combination of sustainability commitments and legislation has led to a greater public scrutiny of corporate behaviour. These developments have considerably raised the profile, responsibilities, and contribution of general counsel in addressing sustainability, integrating ESG risks and opportunities into strategy, company-wide policies, and securing organisational commitment holistically. General counsel are increasingly being asked to not only proactively determine what is legal but also what is right  

across numerous aspects of business, as corporate reputations are increasingly measured on their positive contributions to the communities within which they operate and the way they treat their employees, suppliers, and partners. Initiatives for embedding sustainability into business operations undertaken range from ensuring good working conditions both for the company’s employees and those in its supply chain, reducing emissions, deployment of renewable energy, ensuring the implementation of adequate governance policies and procedures, including ESG goals in performance management systems, promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion whilst building on the five pillars of the company’s sustainability framework’s foundation – Contributing to sustainable economic growth, delivering good governance, nurturing our colleagues, protecting our environment and supporting our community.  

Addressing sustainability with a business focused, simple, commercial approach, presenting it as a business opportunity, demonstrating value creation, whilst aligning with the business strategy is key for general counsel to drive sustainable practices within a company.