Team size: eight

Which recent political, economic, or regulatory changes have impacted the company and the team the most?

The UN Sustainable Development Goals serves as the framework for business planning and action to advance sustainability in partnership with the international community and stakeholders. We have welcomed the UN system, which put forward an open approach to collaboration with businesses regarding responses and recovery from the pandemic. Many organisations and members from various industries stepped forward to support our economy — providing vaccines, keeping business going, and improving work-life balance. A notable example of resilience has been given by the farmers who have been supporting our food system at a time when markets were facing shutdowns, slowdowns, climate change, and economic crisis. We all need to keep offering our services and providing goods despite the challenging times. Mitigating crisis requires a wide range of preventive measures and quick actions from legal departments.

In what ways do you see the in-house legal role evolving in your region over the next few years?

In-house legal teams are business partners. We participate in the business, and we also need to have a perfect understanding of the legal issues that affect the organisation, to develop a risk map that allows the company to mitigate significant risks while pursuing innovation and embracing new business models. Our global general counsel — Gabriel Harnier—once said that general counsel must be able to develop business strategies from a legal point of view, enhance business priorities, add value, and play their part in driving results. We are business strategists and not only lawyers.

How has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected the company and the team’s priorities?

Sustainability came to define our core business and the way we operate. We are a science-based company; therefore, we must have in place a transparent and constructive disclosure system with all the stakeholders interested in creating farmer-centric solutions. Our business plan continuously relies on the sustainability framework, and our vision is reflected in “health for all, hunger for none.” We have been investing in venture initiatives to treat people with diseases and feed populations, keeping the environmental impact at its lowest. The priority of our team is to achieve long-term success by connecting economic growth with environmental and social responsibility. One of Bayer’s main goals is to be completely carbon neutral in its operations by 2030. We want to support 100 million smallholder farmers to produce enough food for the growing population, providing to 100 million women access to family planning, and reduce the environmental impact of crop protection by 30%. The legal department has a pivotal role in driving the achievement of those goals.