First, can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently?  

I am responsible for the development and implementation of thyssenkrupp’s compliance management system in Central and Eastern Europe (including Switzerland and Austria) and the Middle East (including Türkiye). In this role, I advise the group companies in all matters of anticorruption, antitrust law, data protection, anti-money laundering and trade compliance (export control and sanctions).  

Most recently, my team and I conducted a compliance risk assessment in all group companies with respect to the effectiveness of our compliance program in all core areas listed above. In addition, we are rolling out measures to meet the requirements of the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (and the expected CSDDD).  

How does your legal strategy change during periods of instability or uncertainty?   

Increasingly more hands-on advisory role. The new and constantly developing sanctions regulations (EU, CH, UK and US) against Russia (and Belarus) are directly applicable to some of our group companies’ businesses. Hence, we are providing our group companies with detailed guidance and daily advice.    

Do you make use of any ‘legal tech’ products, and if so, for which areas of your job do you find it most useful?  

Yes. We use intelligence tools to find out the shareholder structures and affiliations of our business partners (relevant for sanctions regulations, AML, anticorruption and antitrust law).