Team size: Three

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

Taking the leading role within the company, as in-house counsel, and member of the local management team, I have been involved in and have led various cases and projects over the past years. Simultaneously, I have maintained my primary responsibilities of partnering with the business and other department teams to uphold our Novo Nordisk Way and celebrate our wonderful 100-year anniversary. With our commitment to the Triple Bottom Line, we have also partnered and collaborated with healthcare organisations, not-for-profits, government entities, and non-governmental organisations to raise awareness, enhance prevention, promote early diagnosis, and expand access to care. I am proud to be part of a team that supports and facilitates key relevant projects in this journey.

In parallel, I actively lead the transactions within my legal team. One of our primary tasks is to implement and enforce compliance with the new official guidance in Vietnam on Data Privacy, known as the Decree on Personal Data Protection (PDPD), number 13/2023/ND-CP. Despite limited resources and some uncertainty during the initial enforcement period, we have collaborated with the management team and cross-functional teams to establish our compliance checklist and activities as mandated by the PDPD. We have also developed and followed our compliance plan, while staying updated with further guidance from authorities to ensure that we treat personal data with respect.

Lastly, our team is leading the process of obtaining the Certificate of Satisfaction of Business Conditions, which will enable us to undergo full entity conversion and provide more hands-on support to our patients in Vietnam. This project demands not only competence and knowledge but also effective collaboration and project management. We are working extremely hard to achieve important milestones on our path towards our target.

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?

We have created our central policy hub and a master file that enables our colleagues to perform one-click searches for internal guidance and regulations. It also helps in relieving the local legal and compliance team of daily FAQs regarding normal and standard matters. This is also the foundation for us to standardise other relevant projects, such as the PV checklist or operational guidance.

How do you see the general counsel role evolving in Vietnam over the next five-ten years?

With my unique experience in the local healthcare industry, being an in-house counsel that also takes care of compliance and quality, I would assert that the role of the general counsel has become increasingly crucial in the organisation’s operation. The general counsel must also be more adaptive and eager to learn about new developments. Furthermore, delving deep into the business to ensure an effective partnership with the business is a key tool for the success of the legal team.

What are some of the main trends impacting your industry in Vietnam?

Digitalisation is the first thing I must mention. It is accompanied by social media, forming a “wonderful and unpredictable” couple. It can help organisations expand their influence and reputation in a very short time. However, it can also have the opposite impact, requiring us to manage and control it, necessitating close support from the legal team.

Simplification and improvement in building the legislative system is another key trend in Vietnam. We see the efforts and openness from the authorities in this regard. They allow us to participate in drafting conversations and dialogues. They also provide more tools for guidance and communication during the regulatory implementation process. This trend not only provides opportunities for the legal team to keep up with industry changes and advise the organisation but also demands that we be hands-on and active in following up on these processes and changes.