Legal director and data protection officer | Grupo Globo
Andreia Saad
Legal director and data protection officer | Grupo Globo
Team size: circa 20
What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?
We recently renewed Grupo Globo’s sound and image broadcasting licenses, after the process passed through the Ministry of Communications and the National Congress; we participated in the sale of Som Livre, our arm operating in the recording industry, to Sony Music Entertainment, providing support on corporate, regulatory and tax aspects; we participated in the operation to purchase a shareholding in Eletromídia, a company specialised in out-of-home advertising by Globo, providing support on corporate, regulatory and tax aspects; we participated in the creation of Grupo Globo’s privacy governance structure (since 2021, I have been the company’s data protection officer). We are supporting the creation of Grupo Globo’s artificial intelligence governance structure.
What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?
Strategic vision, good executive communication skills, in-depth knowledge of the company’s business, all combined with solid academic training and excellent legal knowledge.
How have you fostered a closer collaboration between the legal department and your business counterparts?
(i) Encouraging the legal department to adopt objective communication, without legalese, with clear recommendations (this is because, in my opinion, the often-verbose communication from lawyers helps to alienate executives);
(ii) assertively communicating the risks involved in each new project or initiative, making it clear how legal support is essential to avoid or mitigate these risks – the idea is to show that legal counsel should always be sought and consulted;
(iii) demonstrating, in practice, that we in legal are partners and not obstacles – we want, as much as the executives, for the business to grow and expand, but this needs to happen in a responsible way, without raising unnecessary risks to the company. And this is the role of the legal team – to help prevent and mitigate risks, but in a way that is sensitive to the demands and particularities of the business, always supporting its growth.
Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?
I am particularly fascinated by these debates about the importance of internal legal departments for the achievement and expansion of businesses and their strategies and I actively participate in the debates; I am also interested in animal and environmental causes and all their repercussions on corporate structures, with a focus on ESG agendas.