About

Fiona Gumede, general manager and company secretary, legal and security, leads a top-notch team consisting of ten lawyers, four paralegals, and two compliance specialists at Engen. The department provides legal support to the business, which includes the management of legal costs, interaction with external and internal stakeholders, compliance, litigation and dispute resolution, contract management, governance and risk management. Within the team, legal services manager Anton Pienaar handles the day-to-day operations of the group, alongside compliance manager Peter Kituri and assistant company secretary Seemah Samsodien. In the last two years, the company has restructured the legal department, centralising multiple subdivisions into one legal team run by members at regional offices across South Africa. The lawyers based at the regional offices mainly support the front line business and are responsible for property transactions, litigation and dispute resolution, credit management and liquidations. Another key change was the inclusion of the corporate security team into the legal and company secretary division. This has resulted in the integration of 16 new staff, and approximately 450 security contractors. The legal team has been involved in a number of significant transactions over the past year including the successful resolution of a competition law case and reached a settlement with the Competition Commission. On this success, Gumede says, ‘The settlement agreement now provides clarity in terms of information exchange guidelines. The settlement agreement was reached on the basis of no admission of liability to the company’. Additionally, the team has been involved in a range of M&A transactions in South Africa and across the African continent that involved cross functional disciplines across multiple jurisdictions. The team has also been involved in industry precedent setting matters in South Africa involving data protection and IT compliance frameworks. Gumede adds that ‘the team strives to be “an accessible, integral and value adding division focusing on providing services with excellence and ensuring a positive customer experience”. This vision statement evolved pursuant to the creation of one legal team subsequent to the restructure. Developing the team’s vision involved participation from every team member, which has helped ensure buy-in at all levels’.