Team size: 16 in the US (includes ESG and Government Affairs) and six in the EU

What are the most significant cases or transactions that you have recently been involved in?

I joined Graphic Packaging International in 2014 at which time the company had US$4.2bn in sales and 12,900 employees located primarily in the US. Now in 2022, we are proud to be a US$8.1bn company with over 25,000 employees around the world. We currently have operations in 18 countries outside of the North American market. The legal team has been heavily involved in driving our transformational growth over the last 8 years. For example, our team has been instrumental in our M&A activity, the most recent of which was our acquisition of AR Packaging which more than doubled our European footprint. We also support our day-to-day business operations which is everything from contract support to assistance with regulatory compliance and commercial dispute resolution. We have dedicated intellectual property expertise to support our focus on growing the innovations that we can offer to our customers. Our team works closely with our business teams, creating a high level of trust which enables us to proactively address risks as they arise in the business.

As we enter the next decade, what skills will a corporate legal team need to succeed in the modern in-house industry?

The world is becoming increasingly complex in so many ways from the global pandemic to supply chain disruptions to increased regulatory pressures. The obstacles our business partners are facing have become more numerous and difficult to navigate as a result. This landscape demands the highest level of agility and tenacity from a corporate legal team. In the “old days,” we used to rely on our outside law firms to provide expertise where we lacked certain skills or knowledge. Today, the challenges our business routinely faces are new to everyone and so our legal team must often develop expertise in an emerging subject matter on their own because our outside lawyers are coming up to speed at the same time. For example, in the face of a myriad of state and federal Covid regulations, our team digested those new regulations at record speed and developed practical solutions. This work enabled us to respond to the needs of our business and our customers and minimise disruption to our business.

What are some of the main legislative or regulatory changes that have impacted you?

Like many of our corporate peers, we are working daily to address the swiftly evolving ESG landscape. We see a tidal wave of regulations which impact our business on a global basis coupled with a huge number of ESG frameworks (GRI, TCFD, CDP) against which our operations are measured. To address evolving ESG demands, we are working closely with our internal experts such as our chief sustainability officer as well as with our key stakeholders like our customers and investors, to take our business to the next level. This legal work includes environmental compliance, supporting sustainability innovations, diversity, equity, and inclusion work as well as addressing emerging disclosure requirements.