About

A renowned problem-solver with ‘top technical competences’, Marilù Capparelli swiftly rose to her current position of regional legal director of Google’s EMEA region. After a 10 year stint in private practice she made her first move in-house as head of the Italian legal department for eBay, where she was also in charge of European anti-counterfeiting strategy. Further building her cross-border experience in leading legal teams for internet companies, she joined Google in 2009 as head of the Italian legal function and two years later was promoted to senior regional counsel – head of legal for Italy, Greece and Turkey. She was eventually promoted to her current role in May 2015. Utilising her rich international experience in internet law and associated areas, Capparelli’s current role allows her to focus on intellectual property, litigation, privacy, regulatory matters and strategic commercial deals. Demonstrating her own progression and the trust shown in her by the company, Capparelli has seen her remit expand geographically; ‘since becoming a director, I deal with more international matters rather than the previous, country-specific responsibilities’, including projects spanning the entire European region and the whole of the United States. Recognising the importance of business people having sufficient knowledge of technology law, Capparelli is also entrusted with the delivery of education programs that facilitate the ‘spreading out’ of technology-related legal matters internationally, leading company strategy by collaborating with ‘universities, lawyers and big law schools around the world’. Capparelli understands the importance of a strong overall legal team and believes that her team is full of the ‘right people not only for their competencies but for their personal skills and diversity’. Away from Google, Capparelli has authored several legal articles and frequently gives speeches at legal and policy conferences. She previously spent time at the University of Bologna in the Department of Civil Law as a visiting lecturer, specialising in European Union law.