About

With a 2016 revenue of almost $16bn, CMA CGM is one of the largest shipping and container companies in the world. Although the company’s headquarters are in Marseille, it operates a global network of more than 650 offices in 160 countries, and has an international staff headcount of 29,000. CMA CGM has had a history of expansion through organic means as well as merger activity, and this growth has often kept its legal team busy. Gaëlle Boriosi, group chief general counsel, oversees a legal team that manages a complex company with lofty international ambitions. Boriosi and the team have played a crucial part in negotiations to create the OCEAN Alliance – a vessel- and slot-sharing agreement between some of the major global shipping companies. CMA CGM, China Cosco Shipping, Evergreen Line and OOCL will disrupt the shipping industry by aligning their routes and ports of call in order to gain operational efficiency and reduce transportation times. Negotiating the complex agreements behind this was in no small part down to the CMA CGM legal team, especially considering that the company is contributing 119 of the 323 ships in the alliance. When this is added to the competitive long-term agreements that team must handle – such as a recent joint venture with Adani Ports to run Mundra Port’s container terminal for 15 years – it is clear that the CMA CGM legal team is at the forefront of the industry.