Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense? 

Combining complex, satisfying and high-priority legal work and work-life balance is possible for all team members regardless of their circumstances. I believe that (in most cases) feeling productive, engaged, and valued is essential to creating a high-performance team which can play a central role in achieving a business’s objectives. I aim to support my team members and other colleagues in finding ways to work that foster their skills and ambition and enable them to deliver exciting, strategically essential projects while also ensuring they can prioritise their relationships, home responsibilities and activities that bring them joy. In particular, I try to get to know each team member as an individual with unique needs and wants and focus on how I can support them to be where they want to be in the organisation.
 

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
 

I was the first member of a new legal function within Rio Tinto created in 2022 to specifically provide legal support for the teams working towards Rio Tinto’s decarbonisation objectives. With my colleagues, we now offer support to a team of approx. 130 (plus related teams in our product groups working on decarbonisation projects) known as Rio Tinto Energy and Climate, advising on a diverse range of projects, including renewable energy development and procurement across technologies and regions, nature-based solutions projects, and decarbonisation-related R&D and new ventures, across Rio Tinto lands and sites globally. Time is of the essence in working towards a low-carbon global economy. For my team, this has meant finding new ways of working, with a strong focus on strategy and overall objectives, and identifying commercial, practical, and innovative ways of supporting some very new teams grappling with complex and widely varied opportunities and obstacles.   

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?  

Urgent action is required to limit the impacts of climate change and the destruction of nature. This means, for all kinds of businesses and governments at all levels, fundamentally changing how developed nations and enterprises within them have continuously operated. This transition is already happening, but the urgency cannot be overstated. The old ways of assessing a business’s success do not always consider the cost to society and individual communities of that success. New perspectives and approaches are required in decision-making. This includes ensuring teams are made up of individuals with diverse skill sets and backgrounds, particularly at senior levels of government and business where decisions are being made that will determine our chances of remaining good stewards of the Earth for future generations.