| AGL Energy
AGL Energy is an integrated Australian energy company with operating business units involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity for residential and commercial use. The company operates power...
| AIA Australia
Michael Tropea, general counsel and company secretary, leads the team of nine Australian lawyers and one company secretarial support staff providing service aligned to the strategic objectives of leading insurance...
| AIG New Zealand
American International Group, more commonly known as AIG, has been operating in New Zealand since 1970. In December 2011 AIG New Zealand became the first licensed insurer under the Insurance...
| Amcor
Amcor is an Australian multinational packaging company that accrued a revenue figure of $9.5bn through its production of plastic packaging goods that are used in several industries. Amcor is a...
| ANZ Bank New Zealand
Featuring an abundance of exceptional legal professionals, such as Elizabeth Weaver, Cushla Scholfield and newly appointed general counsel David Bricklebank, ANZ Bank’s legal group in New Zealand has recently won...
| Auckland International Airport
Overseeing legal matters pertaining to New Zealand’s largest publically listed company by market cap, the in-house legal function at Auckland International Airport contains five lawyers employed to overlook specific parts...
| Aurizon
Transporting over 250 million tonnes of Australian commodities each year, Aurizon is Australia’s largest rail freight operator and a top 50 Australian Securities Exchange company. Senior vice president and general...
| Australia Post
Australia Post is a government owned corporation that delivers postal services in Australia and abroad. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australian Post largely operates in Australia, with offices scattered across the country....
| Australian Broadcasting Corporation
A historic company with an important place in the history of broadcasting in Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is a government-owned entity that is predominantly known for its television...
| Australian Securites Exchange
Led by general counsel and company secretary Alistair Clarkson, the legal team of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) continues a tradition of excellent legal oversight and regulation of the exchange,...
| Australian Transportation Safety Bureau
National transportation safety investigation bodies fulfil a highly important role both domestically and internationally. The loss of an airliner, for instance, is likely to have safety implications the world over....
| Beyond International
Founded in Australia, Beyond International is an international television and film production company with operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and the United States. Having joined the company in...
| BHP Billiton
An organisation that needs little by way of introduction and the fourth largest company in Australia by market capitalisation as of August 2017, BHP Billiton is one of the most...
| BOSCH Australia
German multinational engineering and electronics company Bosch has had a presence in Australia since 1907. 110 years later, Bosch Australia currently generates revenues of over $750m AUD per annum in...
| Brookfield Property Partners
Having doubled the size of the team over the past two years, senior vice president legal and general counsel of Brookfield Property Partners Claire Bibby oversees a team of high...
| BT Australasia
Led by Dan Cootes, head of legal and company secretary at British Telecom (BT) Australasia, the legal, governance and compliance team supporting BT’s businesses in the region is made up...
| Carlton & United Breweries
The global businesses of Carlton & United Breweries’ (CUB) parent company, SABMiller, was acquired by AB InBev in October 2016 to create the world’s largest beer company in a deal...
| CBH Group
Earning over $3.5bn AUD annually, the CBH Group is Australia’s largest co-operative and a leader in the Australian grain industry. As general manager of legal and risk, David Woolfe holds...
| Challenger Limited
The legal team of the Australian Securities Exchange listed investment management firm Challenger Limited is part of the combined legal, company secretarial and corporate affairs team and features 19 lawyers....
| Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
Representing over 100,000 professional members in Australia, New Zealand and overseas, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) was created in 2013 following the amalgamation of the Institute of...
| Clough
Established in 1919 and operating primarily in the oil and gas sector, Australian international company Clough has projects in engineering, construction, operations and maintenance services. Headed by group general counsel...
| Coca-Cola Amatil
Coca-Cola Amatil, one of the largest bottlers of ready-to-drink beverages in the Asia-Pacific region, has undergone a major reorganisation and rationalisation of its legal function following the resignation of its...
| Commonwealth Bank of Australia
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is the country’s leading provider of integrated financial services and one of the most recognised brands in the Australian financial industry. In 2016, Anna...
| CPB Contractors
Formerly known as Leighton Contractors and part of the CIMIC Group, CPB Contractors is one of Australia’s largest construction companies and has a number of projects in its home market...
| Crown Resorts
One of Australia’s largest entertainment groups, Crown Resorts operate as a top 50 ASX listed company with 13,000 employees across its casino entertainment complexes and online gambling businesses in Australia,...
| CSL
Headquartered in Melbourne and employing over 17,000 people in more than 30 countries, CSL is a global specialty bio therapeutics company that develops products to treat and prevent serious medical...
| Deloitte
The legal team for the Australian branch of multinational professional services firm Deloitte is made up of 22 members and is headed by Rachel Besley, the company’s general counsel, board...
| Downer Group
Providing engineering and infrastructure management services to a range of public and private sector companies, Downer Group is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and an operating income figure of...
| eBay
A quartet of lawyers led by Shoshana Shields, director of legal and general counsel for Australia and New Zealand, comprise the legal team for online marketplace eBay in the region....
| EBOS Group
Janelle Cain acts as the current general counsel of EBOS Group, the largest healthcare distributor in Australia and New Zealand, and is in charge of a legal team that is...
| Elders
Having successfully supported the country’s farming business for over 175 years, Elders is a leading agribusiness and an iconic Australian brand. The company provides various services to primary producers from...
| EnergyAustralia
The EnergyAustralia legal and governance team led by general counsel and corporate secretary Chris Ryan comprises of 31 employees, of which 11 are practicing lawyers. It would not be an...
| ENGIE Australia
Active in Australia since 1996, ENGIE Australia (formerly GDF Suez Australia) is now responsible for the generation of approximately 2,000MW of energy via renewable, gas-fired and brown coal power plants....
| Fairfax Media
Founded in 1841, Fairfax Media is today one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest media companies with output and investments in the newspaper, magazines, radio and internet industries. Headed by...
| Financial Markets Authority - New Zealand
The legal team of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) of New Zealand has the opposite relationship to regulations than other in-house lawyers in the financial sector, being on the drafting...
| Fonterra Group
The New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by approximately 10,000 farmers, Fonterra Group is the largest exporter of dairy products in the world and a global leader in dairy science...
| Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia (FFA) has recently achieved some notable successes towards its aim of nurturing and growing the sports of soccer, futsal and beach soccer throughout Australia. In December 2016,...
| Fortescue Metals Group
A key component in Australia’s large scale materials and mining industry, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) is a major player in the sector, pulling in $7.1bn USD in revenue for 2016,...
| Fox Sports Australia
Owned by News Corp Australia, Fox Sports Australia is the country’s leading producer of sports television coverage and is also its number one general sports website. Competing directly with ESPN...
| Future Fund Management Agency
The Future Fund Management Agency (FFMA) was established by the Australian Commonwealth Government in 2006 to invest and administer a series of investment funds, including the Future Fund. The Future...
| Goodman Group
Goodman Group is an Australian integrated commercial and industrial business that owns and develops real estate including warehouses, large scale logistic facilities, business and office parks globally. The legal team...
| Goodman NZ
Goodman is an integrated commercial and industrial property group that owns, develops and manages real estate space for business and commerce. The company has a substantial property offering that is...
| Harvey Norman
Founded in 1982, Australia’s Harvey Norman brand – which retails several categories of electric goods and appliances – extends to approximately 280 company-owned and franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand,...
| Horizon Power
Australia government-owned power company Horizon Power has been involved in a number of significant deals over recent years, supported all the way by the expertise of its legal team. General...
| IAG
IAG (Insurance Australia Group) is Australia and New Zealand’s largest general insurance company. Operating in both countries as well as in Asia, IAG is the name behind some of the...
| IAG New Zealand
Nominators spoke highly of general counsel Blair Williams, general counsel of insurance company IAG New Zealand and the legal department he leads, one source stating that Williams ‘oversees a very...
| Idemitsu Australia
Chris Walsh is the general manager – commercial at petroleum company Idemitsu, and leads a team of six professionals that has grown exponentially since its creation two years ago. As...
| Incitec Pivot
Incitec Pivot is a manufacturer and distributor of industrial explosives, chemicals and fertilisers. With operations on five continents, including seven ammonia plants and seven initiating systems plants it is the...
| IRESS
Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, IRESS is a supplier of share market and wealth management systems in Australia, Asia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom. It...
| JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi is one of Australia’s most successful companies in the retail sector. Specialising in the sale of video games, Blu-rays, DVDs, CDs, home appliances, electronics and hardware, the company...
| KFC South Pacific
Headquartered in the United States, Yum! Restaurants International operates some of the best-known fast food outlets globally, including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. Encompassing locations in both Australia and...
| Kiwi Property Group
Founded in 1993, New Zealand’s Kiwi Property Group is one of the most respected property developers in the country, boasting a market capitalisation of almost $2bn NZD and a total...
| Kiwi Wealth
The legal team of Kiwibank’s Wealth division advises internal clients at Kiwibank and sister companies at Kiwi Wealth by working across four offices in Australia. It is made up of...
| Kiwibank
Created in 2002, Kiwibank is a New Zealand financial services enterprise that is “100% New Zealand owned”, being a subsidiary of New Zealand Post Limited, the country’s state owned postal...
| L’Oréal Australia and New Zealand
L’Oréal’s sprawling global beauty empire maintains a significant presence in both Australia and New Zealand, with a portfolio of 29 and 19 brands under management in the two countries respectively....
| Lion
Lion is one of Australasia’s largest food and beverage companies employing around 6,700 people across Australia and New Zealand. Lion’s history extends back to 1840, marketing premium brands in the...
| Luxottica Retail Australia
A global market leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of fashion, luxury, sports and performance eyewear Luxottica employs a diverse legal team in the Australia and New Zealand region...
| Macquarie Group
Sydney headquartered Macquarie Group is an international financial services provider that employs almost 14,000 staff in over 27 countries around the world across its various business units. Macquarie’s group legal...
| McDonald's Australia
McDonald’s Australia operates a vast network of both directly-owned and franchised fast-food restaurants. Australia is something of a test-bed for new products for the fast-food giant, and recently meal innovations...
| Meridian Energy
Generating the largest proportion of New Zealand’s electricity, Meridian Energy is one of the country’s leading electricity retailers and operates from its headquarters in Wellington. Heading Meridian Energy’s legal function...
| Metcash
Described as Australia’s leading wholesale distribution and marketing company with a speciality in the areas of groceries, fresh produce, liquor, hardware and other consumer goods, Metcash has a long history,...
| Metlifecare
Metlifecare is one of New Zealand’s largest retirement village providers owning and operating 24 retirement villages throughout the North Island of New Zealand with a legal team of four lawyers...
| Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Following a merger of various government departments in 2012, New Zealand’s Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was established as the New Zealand government’s lead business-facing agency tasked with...
| Mirvac Group
Principally located in Australia’s four key cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth), Mirvac Group is a leading Australian property group that owns and manages assets across the office, retail and...
| Mitre 10
Mitre 10 is a major New Zealand retail chain of home improvement stores which has been in operation for approximately 44 years, today, the company records an annual turnover of...
| Mondelēz Australia and New Zealand
United States multinational Mondelēz International is one of the largest food manufacturers in Australia and New Zealand with five manufacturing plants in the region that house a portfolio of brands...
| MYOB
Founded in 1991, MYOB (Mind Your Own Business) is a multinational accountancy, tax and related services company, initially created on the back of their unique accounting software. Since then, the...
| National Australia Bank
The fourth largest Australian financial institution in terms of customers and market capitalisation, National Australia Bank, has been in existence for over 150 years and today employs more than 35,000...
| nbn
nbn is an Australian GBE – a government business enterprise – tasked with designing, building and operating the national broadband network, one of the largest infrastructure projects in Australian history....
| New Zealand Defence Force
Responsible for protecting the country of New Zealand in conjunction with the Ministry of Defence, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) play a vital role in managing national security interests...
| New Zealand Rugby Union
In terms of sport, rugby union is almost synonymous with New Zealand, whose national team boasts an almost unbelievable record in international competition. The All Blacks – as they are...
| NZ Super Fund
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund is a global investment fund established by the New Zealand Government to partly pre-fund the future cost of New Zealand superannuation payments. The Fund is...
| Optus
With 36 highly capable lawyers based in locations across Australia, the legal department at Optus – one of the country’s largest telecommunications operators – is proud of its ‘strong cultural...
| Origin Energy
Comprised of 25 lawyers and five support staff, the legal team at Australian energy company Origin Energy is led by general counsel Andre Clarke. Internally the team recently designed, built...
| PepsiCo Australia and New Zealand
Part of the global PepsiCo Group, PepsiCo Australia and New Zealand employs over 2,500 staff and operates through four business units: The Smith’s Snackfood Company, The Quaker Oats Company, PepsiCo...
| Precinct Properties New Zealand
Adapting to and assisting with Precinct’s repositioning from a purely property investment and management company to its new ventures in the field of property development, the lawyers within the legal...
| QBE Insurance
Whilst working collaboratively with the internal product team, QBE’s legal department has recently been responsible for developing and embedding the legal framework necessary for the acquisition and integration of the...
| QBE Insurance - Commercial, Operations and Technology
Supporting one of the world’s top 20 insurers with operations in 37 countries and a workforce of over 15,000 employees, QBE’s global commercial, operations and technology legal team has lawyers...
| Rio Tinto
Reporting to group general counsel Philip Richards in London, the Australian contingent of the dual-headquartered Rio Tinto legal team is well stocked with top legal talent. The company is vast,...
| Scentre Group
Created in June 2014 in the aftermath of the renowned Westfield Group separating its businesses from its operations in the United States and its Australia and New Zealand regions, Scentre...
| Sealord International
New Zealand fishing company Sealord is one of the country’s best known seafood brands and one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The scope that the two-man legal team...
| Shell Australia
Shell Australia is the Australian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell and has operated in Australia since 1901, initially delivering bulk fuel into Australia, then later establishing storage and distribution terminals,...
| SKYCITY Entertainment
SKYCITY Entertainment was established in 1996 as the owner of the SKYCITY Auckland complex and in 1998, the company took over regional operations from the gaming operator Harrah’s Entertainment. Today...
| Spark New Zealand
Boasting 2015 revenues of over $3.5bn NZD, Spark New Zealand is a major telecoms company that provides fixed and mobile phone services, internet services and IT services. The company is...
| Stanwell Corporation
Stanwell Corporation is a Queensland government-owned corporation and is the state’s largest electricity generator. For the last 15 years Philip Ware has been the general counsel of Stanwell corporation and...
| Staples Australia and New Zealand
The United States multinational office supply retailing company Staples has been established in the region since 2004, and the Australia and New Zealand subsidiaries currently account for over $1bn USD...
| Tabcorp Holdings
Headed by Sean Hughes, a distinguished legal and regulatory compliance leader with deep experience in both specialties, Tabcorp’s legal and regulatory team comprises of 52 employees, of whom 29 are...
| Telstra
Telstra’s 200-strong legal team headed by Carmel Mulhern has supported some of the biggest strategic transactions in the Australian telecommunications and media sector. These have included the business’ $9bn AUD...
| Toll Group
A logistics powerhouse, Toll Group employs around 40,000 people and posted $8.8bn AUD in revenue for 2014, the final annual report published prior to the group’s acquisition by Japan Post...
| Tower Insurance
Led by general counsel Richard McIntosh, the five-strong Tower Insurance legal team has been particularly busy lately, as McIntosh explains: ‘The ongoing impacts of the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and...
| TPG Telecom
Overseeing and executing important transactions is a hallmark of the legal team at TPG Telecom, an Australian telecommunications and IT company which is the country’s second largest internet service provider...
| Transurban
Despite only being established since 1996, Transurban is a top 20 company on the Australian Securities Exchange. It manages and develops urban toll road networks in both Australia and the...
| Vector Limited
Vector Limited is New Zealand’s largest energy infrastructure company, with over 600,000 customers nationwide. Vector owns over 400 residential battery and solar systems that have been installed and deployed across...
| Vend
Auckland-based Vend is a high-growth, cloud-based point-of-sale software company that integrates with established online payment methods. An important corporate partner of the company is technology behemoth Apple, who named Vend...
| Virgin Australia
The largest airline by fleet size to use the iconic Virgin brand, the aviation firm and key part of the Virgin group of companies worldwide, Virgin Australia is served by...
| Vocus Group
Having been founded in 2008, Sydney headquartered Vocus Group is one of Australia’s fastest growing companies and provides diversified telecommunication services to customers on a domestic and international basis. During...
| Vodafone Hutchison Australia
‘The ultimate goal of the Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) legal team is to provide excellent and pragmatic advice and support, to ensure that Vodafone meets its objectives with acceptable levels...
| Wesfarmers
A major Australian retail conglomerate that delivered a revenue figure of $65.98bn AUD in 2016 and is Australia’s largest private employer, Wesfarmers has a diverse array of business operations including...
| WorleyParsons
Australian Securities Exchange listed engineering company WorleyParsons is serviced by a legal team consisting of lawyers, contracts administrators and two administrative staff reporting to the general counsel in its operations...
For 29 years, The Legal 500 has been analysing the capabilities of law firms across the world. The GC Powerlist is the latest publication from The Legal 500, turning its attention to the in-house function, and recognising those corporate counsel who are driving the legal business forward. The latest edition is the GC Powerlist: Australia and New Zealand Teams, which identifies an array of the most influential and innovative in-house teams working in Australia and New Zealand.
The significant economic and political developments that have taken place over the last 12 months create the sense of a world in transition. A surprise Brexit vote result, followed by the commencement of the Trump administration’s first term have exemplified a rise in populism across developed nations. Global leaders continue to be unpredictable in a time where they are being watched and scrutinised more than ever. From a macroeconomic perspective, we are seeing significant divergence across regions and nations, both in terms of economic status and policy decisions. Despite many moving parts, we have also witnessed global equities move higher and higher, and overall market volatility at all-time lows. Notwithstanding these global factors, recent reports indicate that domestic business leaders remain broadly optimistic about our local Australian economy and, while acknowledging that change and transition is occurring, believe that such an environment is a period of opportunity.
This year we continue to witness an increased number of organisational leaders being forced to consider and embrace the disruptive forces impacting their businesses. It seems that it is no longer acceptable for organisations to ‘bury their head in the sand’ and rest on past successes but rather it is a time to challenge conventions and champion change as organisations work to be disrupters and not the disrupted. Perhaps unsurprisingly in this time of uncertainty, a large proportion of businesses are focusing on technology-driven change to help them improve their bottom line, strengthen organisational resilience and keep their business moving forward, with a recent report showing that 74 percent of Australian CEOs expect technological innovations to disrupt their industry by 2020.
This push from leaders to embrace innovation and implement new technologies has presented certain challenges for, in particular, general counsel. More specifically, general counsel are now required to understand the legal, compliance and regulatory risks intertwined with such technological advancements. A failure to do so, will likely have detrimental impacts for businesses, as was evidenced in the recent worldwide WannaCry ransomware attack. It is also evident that the key concerns and priorities for a number of general counsel this year relate to compliance and ethics management and data privacy and cybersecurity risk, as organisations look to embrace technological change and use innovation to deal with the new challenges and uncertainties impacting the business landscape. It is clear that general counsel are now expected to have a handle on the many issues and threats which new technologies present and must embrace the realities of doing business in a digital age – an undoubtedly difficult task to handle given the ever-evolving and fast moving nature of most new technologies.
These changes to the Australian business landscape have also contributed to the expectation that general counsel must now provide their organisation with more than just legal decisions from the periphery, but rather are expected to have a comprehensive understanding of the commercial imperatives of the organisation so that they can present advice that harmonises legal knowledge with business acumen. As Australian CEOs look to use these uncertain times as an opportunity for growth and innovation, general counsel are likewise being asked to use risk management as a tool to enhance business value given the unique position of general counsel being able to identify future opportunities and dangers over the horizon from a perspective that can balance both legal and business issues – a perspective that is usually distinctive to that of most organisations’ board members. It seems that the notion of general counsel being required to ‘do more with less’ continues to be particularly relevant throughout 2017.
Similarly the need for general counsel to wear multiple hats, acting as not only a legal adviser, but also as a risk manager and business adviser that drives innovation, has also increased dramatically in recent years as general counsel continue to strive to help their organisations to keep pace with the evolving geopolitical and economic landscape. From a practical perspective, we understand that this has meant that general counsel are being asked to have a more active role in various risk-related aspects of their organisations ranging from acting as company secretary, secretary of board committees and members of risk related subcommittees, to being fundamental to the development of organisational policy and the structure of the organisation’s corporate governance policy to ensure that it meets best practices and provides a foundation for the organisation to proactively engage with material risks and third party stakeholders such as regulators and industry bodies.
Given these factors and the changing expectations of general counsel, the need for professional service providers to provide an aligned offering has never been more prominent. In much the same way that the expectations of general counsel have changed in recent years, the expectations of external legal counsel providers have similarly shifted. We understand that clients are looking for legal approaches to be more than just technically excellent but embrace and encourage collaboration across different organisational divisions to provide business-focused legal outcomes. Our service offering at KPMG Law has been developed to cater for such demand whereby we strive to deliver the highest quality legal services as part of an integrated KPMG team. We complement traditional KPMG expertise by delivering practical and commercially focused legal services within a multi-disciplinary offering to our clients.
KPMG Law is proud to sponsor this year’s GC Powerlist for Australia and New Zealand. We wish to warmly congratulate those in-house teams selected for inclusion in the GC Powerlist Australia and New Zealand Teams 2017 and applaud each team for the vital role they play within their organisation.
For the third consecutive year, Legal 500 partnered with Red Legal Iberoamericana to celebrate the very best in-house counsel from across Europe who dedicate their efforts to the vibrant region of Latin America. In fact, these lawyers possess a unique set of skills that enables them to navigate the challenges and diversity of Latin America in an agile and well-versed manner.
The event took place at the Hotel Wellington in the elegant city of Madrid, Spain, on 7th November 2024. Attendees were welcomed by Sara Maggi, senior editor — research and content at Legal 500, who congratulated all the powerlisters for their contributions to business across Latin America and emphasised the importance of recognising such exceptional lawyers.
Julio Veloso, partner at Broseta Abogados, then took the stage. After offering his congratulations, he invited Alejandro Sainz, senior partner at Sainz Abogados, to join him on stage. They reiterated their pride in sponsoring this research and publication, which recognises unmatched talent.
Santiago González Pérez, vice president and senior employment counsel for EMEA at American Express, shared an in-house perspective on the challenges of working in-house and managing client expectations while operating in a business environment. He also highlighted the importance of being recognised by such prestigious publications.
The evening continued with a cocktail reception featuring drinks and canapés, alongside networking opportunities between talented peers. The event was a great success, and we look forward to next year, as we continue to recognise the efforts of Latin American specialists based across Europe.
