Team size: 38

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

As part of a corporate reorganisation, our legal team undertook ten mergers in Europe, seven of which happened in the Netherlands in 2021. Our commercial side had an extremely busy year of working for unprecedented number of proposals and negotiations of new contracts achieving a successful campaign. During the pandemic, we worked hand-in-hand with the facility team to renegotiate or to terminate a range of leases in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands. With the completion of its acquisition, BCD improved its existing technology; accordingly, we launched a new product with a state-of-the-art software in 2022.

How do you feel the pandemic has changed the world of work for in-house counsel and the function of the general counsel?

Being part of a truly international, diverse, and integrated team like us at BCD means that working with people in different locations as one team is not new. The pandemic not only forced us to adapt from face-to-face meetings to virtual ones but also allowed us to enjoy family life along with our work at home. The shift from work-office to home-office is no longer temporary and is developing into hybrid working. For the general counsel leading in-house legal teams, it became more challenging to keep the flame of team sprit intact. Supporting team members to overcome the challenges of adapting to a new way of doing business is already demanding enough without providing psychological support as some of these changes can make everything much more stressful. The limited physical contact compelled leaders to move out of their comfort zone and to find new ways of efficient communication. The significance of technology is emphasised more than ever, and virtual meetings and gatherings have been normalised and settled as a routine.

What will be the main focus for the company in the next 12 months and how do you intend to assist with this?

Providing recovery strategies to travel management services will be the key focus of the company in the next 12 months. The travel industry has been deeply affected by the pandemic and it requires rebuilding of different departments with the implementation of the new client lists. The legal team will be heavily involved in assisting the company with this strategy by drafting and negotiating commercial agreements and introducing new technology in the company’s product portfolio. In-house counsel are business partners. Working closely with our colleagues from other functions, we are part of the mechanism delivering the company’s objectives. Whilst promoting the ‘one team behaviour’ agenda, we align our priorities with the company’s objectives, vision, and mission.